Pohjola and Suomi Mutual Medical Award granted to Professor Kari Raivio

4 January 2007

The Pohjola and Suomi Mutual medical award of EUR 20,000 has been granted to Professor Kari Raivio, Chancellor of the University of Helsinki, in recognition of his important lifelong work in the research and development of paediatric medicine and for his outstanding achievements in promoting university research and teaching. The award was presented on 4 January 2007. Kari Raivio wants to see an improvement in the standing of clinical work – the practical work of a physician – in physicians' career development.

Professor Kari Raivio

"Too many young physicians choose to write a doctoral thesis instead of focusing on improving their clinical skills. Writing a doctoral thesis should not be necessary unless you plan a career in research. The development of clinical skills should be valued just as much as working on a thesis, and a good clinician should be able to pursue a successful career all the way to the top university hospitals without a D.Med.Sc.", believes Kari Raivio.

"For this reason, we need ways to assess clinical skills and reward those who excel. Patient treatment skills develop particularly well in hands-on work where you also have the opportunity to follow your patients' health in the long term."

Not surprisingly, therefore, Raivio is concerned about the increasing numbers of freelance and outsourced physicians. A doctor who only works in the same surgery for a short time is unable to follow the health status of his patients over a longer period.

The problem affects the entire health care system. Health centres are struggling because physicians come and go all the time. The situation is particularly difficult for patients who may feel they are pushed from one person to another with their health problems.

Raivio thinks health centres should be made more attractive working environments for physicians. This is not simply a matter of salary. If the average size of health centres were increased, doctors would not feel left alone with their work. Health centres could also improve the skills of their personnel and provide better opportunities for specialisation. Patients would benefit from this, too, even though many would have to travel a longer distance to their local health centre.

Major progress in treatment of preterm infants

Kari Raivio worked on research and development of paediatric medicine in Finland and the US before being elected Rector of the University of Helsinki in 1996 and its Chancellor in 2003.

He was involved in the development of neonatal intensive care in Finland from the very earliest stages. Until the early 1970s, no respirators or monitoring equipment suitable for preterm infants were available in Finland. Two out of three preterm infants weighing less than 1,500 g at birth died. Treatment results gradually started to improve as clinical research progressed; equipment was obtained from 1975 onwards and the education of specialist physicians and nurses was launched. By the mid-1990s, more than half of babies with a birth weight of less than 1,000 g survived and developed normally.

Kari Raivio's clinical research work mainly focused on the physiology, metabolism and treatment of neonates. He has also carried out basic research on hereditary diseases, the negative effects of hypoxia and oxygen free radicals at cellular and systemic levels, and the antioxidant defences of preterm infants.

Kari Raivio has held several positions of trust both in Finland and abroad, as well as several honorary and research memberships. His scientific publication activities are extensive, and he has also been Chief Editor of both the Finnish Duodecim Medical Journal and the leading international journal in his own field.

During Kari Raivio's tenure as Rector of the University of Helsinki, the University focused on developing its research and research-based teaching. The internal distribution of resources, administrative structures and the employment post structure were revised, and new research institutes and networks were established. The University of Helsinki was a founding member of the League of European Research Universities (LERU) in 2002, and Kari Raivio has been the chairman of LERU since 2004.

The 27th medical award

Tomi Yli-Kyyny, President of Pohjola, and Eino Halonen, President and CEO of Suomi Mutual, presented the award to Kari Raivio at a press conference on the Finnish Medical Convention on 4 January 2007. This was the 27th Pohjola and Suomi Mutual medical award spanning a period of more than 25 years.

Further information may be obtained from

Professor Kari Raivio, Chancellor, University of Helsinki, tel. +358-9-191 22206, kari.raivio@helsinki.fi
Esa Rahkonen, Chief Physician, Pohjola, tel. +358-10-559 2315 or esa.rahkonen@pohjola.fi