Training of the Center for Sports Medicine and Exercise Therapy members within the campaign “Life is in your hands”

The spirit of the upcoming New Year’s and Christmas holidays fails to slow down the work and activities of members and associates of the Center for Sports Medicine and Exercise Therapy. As part of the “Life is in Your Hands” campaign, members of the Center together with specialists in Sports Medicine and Ph.D. students in the module of doctoral academic studies Applied Research in Sports Medicine and Motor Skills attended the second training course to obtain an instructor certificate in the field of training the sports experts in the first aid in a situation of sudden cardiac arrest. This course was organized on Saturday, December 25th, 2021. in the Center for Sports Medicine and Exercise Therapy, at the Institute of Medical Physiology, Medical Faculty in Belgrade.

The campaign “Life is in your hands” is organized by the Olympic Committee of Serbia and the Serbian Red Cross under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Serbia. This campaign aims to train athletes and sports professionals (coaches and physiotherapists) in cardiopulmonary resuscitation measures and the use of external automated defibrillators. It is planned that the campaign includes as many sports federations and sports associations throughout the Republic of Serbia. The support of elite athletes who recorded promotional material also speaks of the importance of the campaign. In addition to members of the Serbian Red Cross, the training will be conducted by trained doctors – instructors of various specialties (specialists in Sports Medicine, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Physical Medicine, etc.), as well as our doctoral students.

All participants in the training were greeted by the President of the Serbian Red Cross, Prof. Dr. Dragan Radovanović, also a doctor of the Olympic Committee of Serbia. In his interview for several media houses, which followed this education, prof. Dr. Radovanović emphasized the importance of conducting this campaign in order to prevent sudden cardiac death on the sports field and training as many direct participants in sports who are directly present on the field. Only the joint activities of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Serbia, the Olympic Committee of Serbia, and the Serbian Red Cross will provide adequate education for doctors and sports experts who are on the front line of reaction to all sports events.

We are glad that the long-standing cooperation that exists between the members of the Center for Sports Medicine and Exercise Therapy and the Serbian Red Cross continues within large projects such as the “Life is in Your Hands” campaign. We plan to organize a few more courses like this in the future. Only through joint teamwork will we be able to create a safe environment for athletes, sports experts, and their loyal followers and fans.