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AzerNEWS Staff

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The 3rd International Izmir Pediatrics Congress has been held in Izmir, Türkiye, with the joint organization of seven universities, bringing together experts to discuss advances in child health, scientific developments and future approaches to pediatrics.

Azerbaijan was represented at the international event, hosted by Ege University, by Dr Tarana Tagizada, president of the Azerbaijan Pediatric Association, vice-president of the Eurasian Federation of Pediatricians, associate professor at the Second Department of Pediatrics at Azerbaijan Medical University, and PhD in Medicine.

In her presentation, titled “Pediatric Bioethics: Current Ethical Challenges and Approaches in Clinical Practice,” Tagizada addressed several key issues, including clinical decision-making in the best interests of children, the assessment of scientific evidence, physicians’ professional responsibilities, family participation in decision-making, the protection of children's rights, and the ethical implications of using artificial intelligence in medicine.

Discussing AI's impact on medical practice, Tagizada cited a randomized study involving 50 physicians, which found that access to the GPT-4 model did not produce a statistically significant improvement in diagnostic reasoning. She also noted that the study was based on written clinical cases and did not specifically focus on pediatrics.

Tagizada proposed assessing future physicians’ knowledge and skills in pediatric bioethics through examination tasks.

“Future physicians must be able to assess benefits and risks, explain uncertainty, communicate effectively with children and their families, and resolve disagreements. When using artificial intelligence, independently verifying the answers provided, cited sources, medication dosages, and units of measurement is an essential skill,” she said.

She added that these competencies should be evaluated through discussions of clinical scenarios and structured clinical examinations.

Concluding her presentation, Tagizada emphasized that clinical decisions should be clear, well-founded and subject to timely reassessment whenever necessary.

As an initial step, she proposed launching a pilot program by establishing procedures for discussing complex cases, training medical teams and evaluating outcomes.

She also put forward an initiative to develop shared educational materials through cooperation among Turkic countries. The materials could be adapted to the languages, cultures and legislation of each participating country, supporting the development of pediatric bioethics education across the Turkic world.