Medical students from all over Spain came to the School of Medicine at the Universidad de Navarra on the 9th, 10th & 11th of February to participate in the conference.  (Acronym JOICE in Spanish). 

This year JOICE was attended by students from 16 universities throughout Spain with a total of 350 participants. The Event included for the first time surgery observations from the Clinica Universidad de Navarra, as well as several lectures and almost twenty practical workshops, such as Basic and Vascular Sutures, Laparoscopic Surgery Medtronic. The event also included hands on training in childbirth at the medical school’s simulation center, as well as simulation training in the removal of the injured from car accidents by the Navarre Firefighters. 

The opening ceremony was attended by Dr. Alberto Lafuente, the Vice President of the Navarra School of Physicians, Dr. Secundino Fernández, The Dean of the School of Medicine at the Universidad de Navarra, Dr. Fernando Martínez Regueira, physician responsible for JOICE, Dr. Jesús Barrio from the Department of Ophthalmology at the Clinica Universidad de Navarra, and   Ramón Vera, President of the conference.

The conference also included guest speaker Lieutenant Colonel Laguardia, who gave the presentation "Surgery and Military Operations Abroad." The session focused on the goals of military health and the importance of damage control surgery as well as treating catastrophic bleeding. Referring to his experience as a military doctor in Afghanistan the Lieutenant stated, "50% of the elusive deaths are caused by bleeding and 7% of all deaths could have been avoided with tourniquet." 

A program by and for future surgeons

The event also featured sessions by Dr. Pedro Cavadas, author of The First Face Transplant In Our Country, and Dr. Diego González Rivas, who is credited with the development of the technique Uniportal VATS that allows the removal of lung tumors with a single incision. The session continued with presentations from several students and the screening of the film "7 days 7 cities".

JOICE is a conference organized exclusively by students and residents from the Universidad de Navarra whose objective is to inform medical students, in an interactive way, the topic of surgery.