What to expect in Episode 15
Ep 15: Dr Kristaps Jurjāns | In the right place at the right time
In a conversation recorded in Maastricht during ESOC 2026, Latvian neurologist Kristaps Jurjāns explains how consistency earned Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital in Riga more diamond awards than any other hospital in the world.
He says, “Mostly what gives us these awards is that we do it consistently. We do not drop our standards and our data shows this. I can trust everybody that works in our hospital with the stroke patients to provide acute care at the highest level.”
He describes missing the cut to become an orthopedic surgeon, following his mom into neurology, just temporarily, and then forgetting all about surgery as he learned about stroke neurology from his mentor Professor Evija Miglāne.
It’s “inevitability” that drives him, he says. “If I drop this, who's gonna pick it up? That’s the first question. And the next question is, so if somebody does, am I happy about it? If not, then you have to do it yourself.
Finally, Kristaps explains how working out with a boxing coach eases the transition from hospital to the Jurjāns household which is currently occupied by three small boys including two-year-old twins.
In this episode:
• Cycling from Brussels to Maastricht
• Getting an award for getting an award
• Why consistency matters
• “You have to rise or somebody dies”
• Choosing neurology (or not)
• Having doctors in the family
• Raising boys
• Getting in the ring
• “What else should I be doing?”
LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE BELOW
Dr Kristaps Jurjāns is a neurologist and 2025 Spirit of Excellence award recipient under whose larger-than-life leadership, Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital in Latvia has become synonymous with stroke care excellence. He’s friendly, he’s funny, he’s opiniated in the best sense of the word, and he doesn’t follow the crowd, which is why when word spread that he’d arrived at ESOC in Maastricht by bicycle, people nodded and said that was a ‘very Kristaps’ thing to do ...