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My name is Jolanda Schieving. I am a child neurologist in the Amalia Children’s hospital/Radboudumc in Nijmegen. I was born in the Netherlands in the beautiful province Drenthe. (The Amalia Children’s hospital is recognizable by the colour orange (and a little crown).
Where do you live?
I live in Malden (7,5 kilometres from Nijmegen) with my husband and three children.
I enjoy cycling to my work every day through the woods of Heumensoord.
When you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up? Can you tell us something about your childhood years?
I grew up in Drenthe and loved to be outside in the woods, fields and moors with my friends and family. I was a curious girl who wanted to know how things worked and functioned. I already loved teaching and explaining complicated matters to others in simple words, which I still love.
What was your previous academic training, where did you study and why did you choose that study/those studies?
I studied medicine at the University of Groningen. I was trained to be a neurologist in the Elisabeth Tweesteden hospital in Tilburg. Afterwards I was trained to be a pediatric neurologist at the Sophia Children’s hospital/Erasmus medical centre in Rotterdam. Since 2018 I have been working as a pediatric neurologist and teacher in the Amalia Children’s hospital/Radboudumc in Nijmegen.
Which of your research discoveries are you most proud of?
I studied the utility of phenotypical and genetic strategies (whole exome sequencing) in daily pediatric neurology practice. It is very important for patients and parents to know what causes their problems and due to these new phenotypical and genetic strategies we gained more insight.
What is your most important scientific challenge in the coming 5 years?
To finish my PhD next to my job as a child neurologist, supervisor for residents and fellows in pediatric neurology and being a teacher and principal lecturer at the Radboud university.
If you could choose any mentor, who would it be?
An honest mentor which whom I can debate and who can give constructive feedback.
That is the way I supervise my students and residents. I want to support them to get the best from themselves. I was therefore very delighted to be honored this year with the title ‘Supervisor from the Radboud University Hospital of the year 2021’. It was a big surprise and honor for me and I am grateful to all the residents who made this possible.
What is your favorite topic: molecules - patients - population?
Patients of course, that’s what drives clinical research for me. But I also love to go to the level of molecules or the population.
What should be changed / improved in the scientific community?
Working together, combining each other’s specific talents leads to research of high quality.
I also think it’s very important as a scientist that you don’t forget to give back the acquired knowledge to the people in society.
That’s why I started my website www.kinderneurologie.eu where I translate information from the PubMed database about multiple pediatric neurological conditions explained in simple Dutch words and drawings for parents, other care givers and professionals. It’s a success, the website gets more than 500.000 visitors each month.
Is there anything we can wake you up for in the middle of the night?
No, I like to sleep at night to gain new energy for all the adventures coming the next day…
But night shifts are also a part of my job……
What is the thing that irritates you most?
Dishonesty. You can get the furthest with openness and honesty.
Who would you like to have dinner with, if you had the chance?
Our queen Máxima. I had the honor of speaking to her once at the anniversary of Make-A-With Netherlands, a foundation that I am very passionate about. Our queen is an intelligent woman and she was very well prepared and informed and very interested in the people present at this meeting.
How do you relax from the demanding job of being a scientist?
Walking outside, playing sports, dancing, eating with good friends and reading an interesting book.
Do you have a tip for our most junior scientists?
Don’t lose your ability to be curious. Trust your own abilities, you are not a scientist for nothing.
If things go wrong, talk about it to a person you trust. You are not the only one struggling. And don’t forget in the end to give back the acquired knowledge to the people in society.
Please add a photo which represents a remarkable event or experience you were part of? Please explain.
I added a photo from me as a teacher at the Radboud University. I love to pass on knowledge to younger generations and I especially love it when they tell me they understand complicated matters after I taught them.
