Dr. Zdravka Gjergja
After graduating from the University of Zagreb School of Medicine, she gained her first professional experience in Karlovac, where she led the vaccination department. She then started working at Karlovac General Hospital, where she began her specialization in pediatrics. The majority of her specialization training took place at the Pediatric Clinic of the University Hospital Centre Zagreb, where her interest in pediatric cardiology emerged. Since 2003, she has been part of the team at Poliklinika Sabol, where she continues to work as a pediatric specialist and consultant in general pediatrics and pediatric cardiology.
Qualifications
She completed her postgraduate studies in clinical pediatrics and, after passing the specialization exam, began working as a pediatric specialist at the Pediatric Clinic of KBC Zagreb in the Department of Cardiology, which also serves as the Reference Center for Pediatric Cardiology for the Croatian Ministry of Health. She further specialized in electrophysiology and pacemaker implantation, for which she received training in the United States at Medtronic. She is a regular speaker at both national and international symposia and congresses.
Experience
Her education continued through numerous postgraduate courses, including a cardiology postgraduate program. She also gained expertise in echocardiography, Doppler echocardiography, and Holter diagnostics, while training younger doctors as well. She became part of the invasive pediatric cardiology team at KBC Zagreb, where she performed heart catheterizations in children and worked closely with top Croatian and international cardiac surgeons on treating complex heart conditions.
Publications
She has authored and co-authored numerous professional and scientific papers in the field of pediatrics and pediatric cardiology, and she has written popular articles for various publications. Her passion for healthcare has been passed on to her children, who have also pursued careers in this field.
Membership
She is a member of numerous professional societies and has served as the secretary of the Pediatric Section of the Zagreb Branch and the "Big Heart for a Small Heart" Association. She was also instrumental in founding the Croatian Society for Pediatric Cardiology and Rheumatology at the Croatian Medical Association and served as the society’s secretary.