{"id":12417,"date":"2020-01-28T15:04:42","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T14:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kaks.hb-dev.de\/2020\/01\/28\/interview-with-the-boss-nikolaos-bechrakis-in-conversation-with-kaks\/"},"modified":"2024-09-25T15:32:12","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T13:32:12","slug":"interview-with-the-boss-nikolaos-bechrakis-in-conversation-with-kaks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kinderaugenkrebsstiftung.de\/en\/interview-with-the-boss-nikolaos-bechrakis-in-conversation-with-kaks\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with the boss – Nikolaos Bechrakis in conversation with KAKS"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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  • \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t28.01.2020,\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t
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    Interview with the boss – Nikolaos Bechrakis in conversation with KAKS<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHe is the Director of the Eye Clinic at Essen University Hospital.\nProfessor of Ophthalmology at the Medical Faculty of the University of Duisburg-Essen.\nProfessor Dr. Dr.h.c. Nikolaos Bechrakis.\nA luminary in the field of retinal detachment and ocular oncology.\nIt goes without saying that KAKS would like to talk to him and get to know him.\nNot a barrage of questions, but a conversation for which Bechrakis makes time despite his intensive clinical routine with a 60-hour week. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    KAKS: Professor Bechrakis, please imagine the following situation: Parents’ evening at the clinic, the mothers and fathers of RB patients are there, want to get to know you.
    \nWhat would you say to them? <\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Nikolaos Bechrakis: I would tell my parents who I am.
    \nI would tell them what I do.
    \nI would tell them how I work. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    KAKS: Excuse us, Professor, for interrupting you right now.
    \nLet’s ask more specifically: Who are you?
    \nNikolaus Bechrakis (laughs): I see.
    \nI am Nikolaos Bechrakis.
    \nMarried.
    \nFather of two sons.
    \nI studied medicine in Homburg and Berlin, where I gained my doctorate in 1995 and habilitated in 2001.
    \nAnd four years later I was appointed professor at the Charit\u00e9.
    \nAs part of my further training, I was at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and in Glasgow.
    \nI was born in Switzerland in 1964, but grew up in Greece and attended the German School in Athens.
    \nMy parents attached great importance to this.
    \nThat’s why I speak German without an accent.
    \nI have Greek and German citizenship. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    KAKS: After many years in management positions in Berlin and Innsbruck, you have now landed in the Ruhr region.
    \nWhy Essen?
    \nWhy did you follow the call to come here? <\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Nikolaos Bechrakis: The hospital contacted me.
    \nAt a time when I had already been working in Innsbruck for ten years.
    \nI had a job there for life.
    \nBut the change seemed attractive enough for me to join a stronghold of ophthalmology.
    \nYou have to know that even during my time in Berlin, the senior physicians were always talking about Essen. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    KAKS: We’re still at the parents’ evening.
    \nAnd your interview.
    \nThe group wants to find out more, such as who is wearing the white doctor’s coat.
    \nSocial skills are also in demand in medicine, aren’t they? <\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Nikolaos Bechrakis: Absolutely.
    \nAnd yet I will tell you that medical expertise is the most important thing for me.
    \nEmpathy is also important, of course, but it comes second.
    \nAnd treating patients and staff with respect is also essential. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    KAKS: Does a modern physician have to emphasize collaborative strengths – or are they in your DNA?<\/strong>
    Nikolaos Bechrakis: They are clearly part of my personality.
    \nAnd in my DNA.
    \nI bring them with me from my parents.
    \nThrough my upbringing.
    \nThese strengths are lived, so to speak, and they prove their worth when critical situations arise. <\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    KAKS: And working in a clinic also means stress…
    Nikolaos Bechrakis: Of course.
    \nBut if I didn’t want that … I was aware that the work here in Essen would be tough.
    \nOphthalmology is not the easiest medical specialty.
    \nIt can lead to the most complicated and stressful cases.
    \nIt’s about the eye, sometimes it’s a matter of life and death.
    \nI’m challenged both medically and mentally. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    KAKS: Do you know this psychologically stressful situation in the doctor-patient relationship from the other side as well?
    \nNikolaos Bechrakis: Oh yes.
    \nMy mother’s death was not easy.
    \nWatching her die was very difficult.
    \nYes, I know the other side very well. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    KAKS: An experience that is certainly formative.
    \nAnd important when you, as a treating doctor, talk to parents today who are worried about their child or their child’s eyesight.
    \nWe want to find out more about this in a moment.
    \nBut first, a very simple question: Why the eye?
    \nWhy did you choose this organ as a young doctor? <\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Nikolaos Bechrakis: I’m simply pre-disposed to that (laughs).
    \nMy father was an ophthalmologist in Greece, where he still lives today.
    \nMy sister is also an ophthalmologist, by the way.
    \nShe practices in Bonn. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    KAKS: As the new Director of the Eye Clinic, you are sure to bring new ideas to Essen that are important for the staff.
    \nAnd for the patients too.
    \nWhat are they? <\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Nikolaos Bechrakis: I’ll tell you how it is: I’m going to look at the day-to-day running of the clinic for a while.
    \nI need the expertise to understand processes and then slowly improve where I think there is a need.
    \nI’m not going to set any tight time horizons.
    \nThe medical and nursing skills are there – at a high level.
    \nThe environment should be pleasant in this high-performance operation that we are.
    \nThe infrastructural resources – they could be improved. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    KAKS: What role does the Children’s Eye Cancer Foundation play?<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Nikolaos Bechrakis: A very big one – in a team of patients and doctors.
    \nYou can’t deliver cutting-edge medicine if the patient doesn’t participate.
    \nThe foundation can help on many levels; disseminating information, supporting parents. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    KAKS: The foundation is already doing quite well (laughs).
    \nWe still need patience to make changes to the infrastructure.
    \nWe have understood that.
    \nTime is an important factor anyway – in everything.
    \nWhat is the importance of time, which is often not available, in the day-to-day running of a clinic? <\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Nikolaos Bechrakis: It plays a major role.
    \nChildren and parents have a great sense of whether you are 100 percent with them.
    \nOr whether you’re under time pressure.
    \nBut let me tell you: Whether you spend 5, 15 or 50 minutes with a patient, this time belongs to them with full concentration and attention and dealing with their individual problem. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    KAKS: Afraid of routine?<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Nikolaos Bechrakis: Routine is actually important.
    \nOf course, you can’t lose sight of what’s new.
    \nYou have to recognize the outliers in medicine.
    \nThat’s why a foundation of standards is important.
    \nWe have meetings every morning.
    \nThese are routine processes.
    \nWe discuss what is important.
    \nThe way in which this is organized can be varied.
    \nI advocate a culture of communication that is simple, transparent and fearless. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    KAKS: Sounds great.
    \nWithout fear?
    \nThat’s already a problem for many people elsewhere.
    \nBut in medicine?
    \nHere the error is perhaps immense… <\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Nikolaos Bechrakis: That’s right.
    \nBut we have to talk about it.
    \nAnd not fear punishment, but strive for improvement.
    \nA working atmosphere can be changed with time and care.
    \nAnd one thing is paramount: the patient is always the boss. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    KAKS: And how is Essen, how is your department set up for “the boss”?<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Nikolaos Bechrakis: Perfect.
    \nInterdisciplinary perfection.
    \nThere is no other way.
    \nWorking together, we achieve customized therapies for patients. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    KAKS: What are your medical dreams?<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Nikolaos Bechrakis: I helped introduce proton therapy in Germany in 1998.
    \nNow, together with Professor Timmermann, I am in the process of applying proton radiation to the eye here in Essen.
    \nFrom 2019, irradiation of eye tumors will also be introduced for adults.
    \nOne of my major goals is to improve the chances of survival for adult melanoma patients.
    \nIt’s very good for children.
    \nIn adults, we have achieved a lot in the last 20 years in terms of eye and vision preservation.
    \nBut we also need to improve the likelihood of survival.
    \nThis can only be achieved through a fundamental understanding of the biology of tumor cells.
    \nFurther research and interdisciplinary work will reduce the likelihood of metastasis and the resulting death. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    KAKS: Is there one case in your medical career that you never forget and that immediately comes to mind when you are asked?<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Nikolaos Bechrakis: Yes. An RB patient who I treated for the first time shortly after his birth in Berlin over 20 years ago. One of the most exciting situations and one of the biggest post-oncology problems I have ever had to solve. The boy – who is now 23 years old – was born with a bilateral retinoblastoma. We treated him; one eye had to be removed, the other was successfully irradiated and treated with chemotherapy. About 15 years later, when I was working at the University Eye Clinic in Innsbruck, a dangerous hemorrhage occurred in this single eye. The situation was dramatic, the 15-year-old boy went blind from one day to the next. I had to solve this situation. I knew that it depended on me whether this person would be able to see for the rest of his life or not.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    KAKS: And???<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNikolaos Bechrakis: I operated on him.\nAs I said, he is now 23 years old.\nAnd studies in England.\nHe writes to me from time to time.\nWhich of course makes me very happy. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    KAKS: Professor ….<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Nikolaos Bechrakis: He can see and read and organize his life the way he wants to.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    KAKS: It’s not hard to imagine how grateful this family must be to you.
    \nIn any case, thank you for the interview.
    \nWith a brilliant ending.
    \nHope is also an important part of therapy.
    \nWe look forward to welcoming you at the next RB meeting. <\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    The interview was conducted by Sabine Kuenzel<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    He is the Director of the Eye Clinic at Essen University Hospital. Professor of Ophthalmology at the Medical Faculty of the University of Duisburg-Essen. Professor Dr. Dr.h.c. Nikolaos Bechrakis. A luminary in the field of retinal detachment and ocular oncology. It goes without saying that KAKS would like to talk to him and get to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6764,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"uix_meta_title":"","uix_meta_description":"","uix_canonical_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[88,91],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-insights-en","category-interviews-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kinderaugenkrebsstiftung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kinderaugenkrebsstiftung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kinderaugenkrebsstiftung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinderaugenkrebsstiftung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinderaugenkrebsstiftung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kinderaugenkrebsstiftung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinderaugenkrebsstiftung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kinderaugenkrebsstiftung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinderaugenkrebsstiftung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kinderaugenkrebsstiftung.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}