Dimas Priantono

I graduated from Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia with M.D. qualification in 2012. During my compulsory service, I opted for remote assignment as general practitioner in a rural hospital on the island of Flores. I learned how to manage critically ill patients in resource-poor facilities and how to make-do with available instruments.  After finishing my service, I continued my career with voluntary posting also in the island, but this time in a larger regional referral hospital.  I worked as in-patient ward doctor in the morning and A&E physician at night for most of my career there. My mentor was very kind to me that he allowed me to manage ICU patients and learn about the basics of critical care.

I started my internal medicine residency in 2015 at my alma mater, Universitas Indonesia. One of the benefits of being a part of the best residency program in the country is that we are given the opportunity to work in several academic hospitals instead of just one national referral hospital.  At those satellite healthcare facilities, we were able to put our hands on critical care patients since our very first year in the residency. My clinical rotations carried on, and at the same time, we also had emergency department rotations running simultaneously. During the ED rotations, I found my passion in the field of critical care medicine. Sometimes I found myself in the ED during my off-hours, learning to perform procedures from my peers or just trying to optimize my point of care ultrasound examination results. We also had several critical care rotations in our final year. That was the time when I felt very determined to learn more about this discipline.

During my residency, I managed to take part in several national and international scientific events, publish few papers, and participate in workshops related to critical care medicine.  I am also an autodidactic learner of evidence-based medicine and clinical research methods. I finished my study and graduated as an internal medicine specialist in 2020.

I feel very honoured to be able to take part in the MSc Critical Care Programme by The University of Edinburgh. As one of the best universities in the world, I believe I can reach my higher potential with the help of the faculty and colleagues. This program will certainly help me in providing better care for my patients and enabling me to share the knowledge with my fellow physicians.  I also want to express my greatest gratitude to the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh for granting me this scholarship. I am looking forward to learning more about critical care medicine through this wonderful program.