Radovan Radonić
I graduated from the School of Medicine University of Zagreb in June 1983. In 1985, I worked as a general practitioner for six months on the island of Hvar. Later that year, I joined the Department of Emergency and Intensive Care Medicine at the University Hospital Centre Zagreb, where I specialized in internal medicine. During my specialization, I completed a postgraduate study in Emergency Medicine.
I became a specialist in internal medicine in 1992 and began working full-time in the medical ICU. In 2004, I earned my PhD.
Until autumn 2024, I served as a professor at the School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, within the Department of Internal Medicine. I was also the main organizer of the interdepartmental undergraduate module in Emergency Medicine, which is part of the medical school curriculum, and the leader of the postgraduate study program "Emergency Medicine." Additionally, I run the elective subject for medical students "Ultrasound as a Stethoscope," focusing on the practical use of ultrasound in bedside diagnostics and therapeutic procedures.
Currently I am the Head of Department of Intensive Care Medicine at the University Hospital Centre Zagreb.
From 1993 to 2006, I served as the Secretary of the Croatian Society of Intensive Care Medicine, playing a significant role in organizing the Society's activities, including monthly meetings, lectures, the annual Symposium on Intensive Care Medicine, and the Summer School on Intensive Care Medicine. I also represented Croatia in the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) Council for two terms.
Since 1986, an ultrasound device has been available exclusively for our ICU doctors, allowing me to extensively use ultrasound in clinical practice for diagnostic purposes and to guide therapeutic procedures at the bedside in ICU and ED settings. In 1986, I attended the "Ian Donald" Course on Abdominal Ultrasound at the Interuniversity School in Dubrovnik. I am a member of WINFOCUS (World Interactive Network Focused on Critical Ultrasound) and served on its Board of Directors. I am the director of the WINFOCUS International Training Unit in Zagreb. Since 2008, we have been offering the Ultrasound Life Support Basic Level 1 (USLS-BL1) course in Zagreb, which has been successfully conducted at least twice annually. At David Bennett’s Summer School on Intensive Care Medicine, held annually on the Brijuni Islands, Croatia, I have delivered lectures and conducted regularly hands-on ultrasound tutorials. Additionally, I have been invited both internationally and within Croatia to deliver lectures and provide training at various ultrasound courses and events.