As part of the week of raising awareness about malnutrition in patients, an expert meeting was held at the Military Medical Academy, organized by the National Association for Clinical Nutrition of Serbia.

In his welcoming speech, the Head of the Military Medical Academy, Prof. Dr. Miroslav Vukosavljević expressed his satisfaction that today, on the day of the patron saint of the medical profession, the MMA, as in the previous 180 years, is proving its role as a pioneer in all areas of the medical profession, science and practice.

"We all at the MMA know that it is easy to inherit the status of the best, but we also know very well that it is difficult to maintain this status." - emphasized Dr. Vukosavljević.

He also emphasized that today is an opportunity for the professional community to deal with the problem that doctors at the MMA are jointly tackling with their valuable comrades - nurses and technicians, as well as that adequate nutrition of patients directly affects recovery, length of hospitalization, complications, all of which are prerequisites for the recovery of patients.

The Head of the MMA Health Care Service, Master Nurse Bojana Jovanović, welcomed all those present and emphasized that today is an opportunity to renew knowledge in this field, but also to see whether the high standards that the MMA has deserved for 180 years are being respected. She emphasized the importance of proper nutrition for disease prevention and overall health improvement, as well as the key role of nutrition during the patient recovery process.

"The path from entering the hospital to recovery can be uncertain for each patient and seem longer than it is. On that path, the role of us, health technicians, is multiple, and clinical nutrition is one of the everyday challenges that we do not talk about enough," emphasized Master Nurse Jovanović.

On behalf of the organizers, the meeting was welcomed by Assistant Professor Dr. Mihailo Bezmarević from the MMA General Surgery Clinic and President of the National Association for Clinical Nutrition of Serbia. He said that Malnutrition Awareness Week is currently being held throughout Europe and that the meeting at the Military Medical Academy is one of the activities during the campaign in various healthcare institutions in Serbia. He also stated that the symposium is dedicated to the most important experiences for everyday clinical practice but following the latest knowledge in this field and international recommendations. In the professional part of the symposium, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mihailo Bezmarević spoke about the impact of malnutrition on treatment outcomes, VMT Jelena Marinkov about enteral nutrition in everyday clinical practice, while VMT Jovanka Mićović gave a lecture on parenteral nutrition and the importance of medical technicians in nutritional therapy.