Dr. Nikola Markov is a graduate from Medical University - Plovdiv. After graduating in 1986, Dr. Markov began his professional path in the State Psychiatric Hospital in the village of Patalenitsa. He acquired his specialty in 1990. He also works in Mental Health Centre in Plovdiv. For more than 20 years Dr. Markov has had an independent practice as a specialist psychiatrist in Plovdiv. One of the founders of the College of Private Psychiatry. One of the few specialists in our country who applies transcranial magnetic stimulation as a therapeutic method for various mental disorders. A few days ago he was awarded the prize in the name of Assoc. Prof. Georgi Koychev for overall contribution to the development of modern Psychiatry in Bulgaria. 

   Dr. Markov, your professional career during the recent years is inextricably linked to the cause of "Private Psychiatry", you are one of the founders of the association with the same name. Did you achieve the goals that brought you together in the beginning - more humane, more accessible and more efficient psychiatric care and support for people with such problems? 

   We should keep in mind that this is from the last 20 years. In the conditions of an unreformed health care system, we have contributed to the decentralization of psychiatric care and its positioning in the community, which is inevitably associated with more humanity, easier accessibility and increased efficiency. 

   On the day you receive the award in the name of the inspirer of the idea of expanding the private psychiatric practice Assoc. Prof. Georgi Koychev, I can't help but ask you if it is difficult for you to talk about him in past tense? 

   The loss is palpable and painful, but the memories and experience with Assoc. Prof. Koychev, his lessons and his scientific and human heritage leave the feeling that he and his personality are still among us. 

   Tell us a bit about what brought you together with this group of colleagues, what were your first steps? 

   Being a part of the progressive, developing part of the professional community, having the support, but also the criticism of like-minded people is a challenge that I accepted in 2000. Under the leadership of Assoc. Prof. Koychev, Collegium "Private Psychiatry" created the first consensus in the new history of Bulgarian Psychiatry, which are embedded in the first professional standards. With each passing year, the conferences have been improving their quality and have become expected events, defining trends and future directions. These meetings were and still are interdisciplinary in nature, as a rule and with the participation of colleagues from abroad. 

   It is no secret the great attention that you pay to colleagues who are now making their first steps in this profession. You were a co-founder of the NLO Award for Young Psychiatrists (Niki and Lacho assess) together with Prof. Lachezar Hranov, who is also no longer with us. You are now a part of the managing body in the newly established Foundation “Young Physicians for Bulgaria”. What is the reason for your devotion to the cause with these young people - graduates, students? 

   As a young doctor I received the exceptional support and the opportunity to grow and develop myself from Dr. Krum Savov and Dr. Nikolai Dzhambazov. I promised to return the gesture to young colleagues, and now it's time for that. 

    If you look at yourself, during your path over the years, do you have an answer to the question - does the young Dr. Nikola Markov look like them or is he different - in his thoughts, ambitions and intentions?