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How the summer internship in Poland is being held – a review by Olha, a student of Kharkiv National Medical University

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How the summer internship in Poland is being held – a review by Olha, a student of Kharkiv National Medical University

Personal information

My name is Olha, I am a 5th year student of the Kharkiv National Medical University. Last summer I completed the summer internship for medical students in Warsaw by the Euromed Foundation and I want to share my experience with you.

I am a third-generation doctor in my family. My mother is asenologist, and my grandmothers are a pediatrician and a cardiologist. I will obtain specialization after the end of the 6th course. My dream is to nostrificate my diploma in Poland and get the specialty of an Infectious Disease Physicianthere.

Preparation for internship

I have already completed practice in Kharkiv hospitals and went for internship in Israel. I found the Euromed Foundation on Facebook and found out that there is the “Summer Internship Program for Medical Students”.

During the preparation for trip, the experts of the Euromed Foundation helped me with the paperwork and answered all of my questions. At my request, they rewrote the invitation twice – it did not fit the form for my university. When all the documents were ready, I went to Poland.

The intern working days took place in the Anaesthesiology Department.
The intern working days took place in the Anaesthesiology Department.

Hospitals and departmentswhere I have completed the internship

The summer internship lasted 21 days and was held in accordance with the practical training program of theKharkiv National Medical University –the higher educational institution where I study. I practiced in 4 areas: Obstetrics, Surgery, Internal Diseases, Pediatrics.

Within three weeks I visited all the planned two clinic-based departments:

  1. Szpital Specjalistyczny im. Świętej Rodziny (of the Holy Family)
  2. Szpital Kliniczny Dzieciątka Jezus (of the Holy Infant Jesus).

At the Pediatrics Department
At the Pediatrics Department

Intern working days

The first thing we were warned about was not to be late. The practice began at 8 a.m. The discipline in Polish hospitals is strict. In some rooms, the admittance wasby permits only. That way,there is the limit of movement of patients in the departments.

We were given key cards so that we had access to all the departments, and we were given a room in which we changed clothes and left our belongings.

With a key card at the Clinic of the Holy Family
With a key card at the Clinic of the Holy Family

Intern working day lasts from 08:00 to 15:00. I admit it confidentially: the internshipcould be skipped and you could not go to the hospital any day – but in this case, there would be no sense from the trip. If you need to gain experience and knowledge, it is important to work. If you just want to rest, then it is better to go on a trip with an ordinary travel agency: the price will be cheaper.

During the internship, I tried to communicate in Polish. I taught him before, and besides, before leaving for internship, the Euromed curators gave us dictionaries with medical terms and held several classes on Skype. Therefore, I had no particular difficulties. At first, I was a little shy and was afraid to say something wrong, but the Poles were sympathetic. They were pleased that I tried to speak Polish. The language barrier quickly disappeared.

In the department, we had a curator – a doctor who was responsible for the students. With him, we started every working day: we observed how the doctor examinedthe patients, got anamnesis, what tests and treatments he prescribed. The curator often suggested that I visit the neighbouring departments, askedthe colleagues to show something interesting from their internship.

During the trip, I tried to learn as much as possible about working in Polish hospitals and the conditions of labor migration, in case if I decide to move to live and work in Polandin the future.

One day, we were given a separate lecture on how the nostrification and postgraduate practice are being held in Poland. I learned what documents to prepare, what exams to pass, how to confirm a diploma. Our curator went through all the stages himself and shared his own experience.

Polish and Ukrainian hospitals: what is the difference?

I have completed internship in Kharkiv hospitals, went for day and night nursing. You can feel the difference between Polish and Ukrainian clinics almost right away: in equipment, in doctors’ attitude to an intern, in patients’ attitude to medical workers in general.

In Warsaw hospitals, the new equipment impressed me. There is no such equipment in Ukraine yet. An Ultrasound Doctor complained that their ultrasonography apparatus was outdated. In Ukraine, there is single such apparatus– in an elite clinic of Kiev.

The doctors treat interns as colleagues. In our university, if a student asks a question, the teacher may consider this as a sign of not being ready for a lesson – he/she may well give the task to do the job or make a report on this issue. In Poland, teachers encourage asking as much as possible and try to answer every question.

With a fellow intern
With a fellow intern

The patients’ attitude was also a welcome surprise for me. The other day of internship, I stood in line at the canteen. The patients noticed me and let me go ahead, because they knew that doctor has a short break, he/shemust have time to rest and refresh. Then I remembered a case from the nursing in an Ukrainian hospital, when the patient cursed at 3 o’clock in the morning because I did not smile while doing procedures to him.

Case report

The internship in Poland is very different from the one in Ukraine. The doctors gladly allow the interns to communicate with the patients, examine them and help the medicalpersonnel during procedures. Above all things, I remember the Obstetrics Department.

The Obstetrician-Gynecologist allowed me to assist during a cesarean operation, taught me to live-stitch. At the Internal Disease SurgeryDepartment, I was given a try to perform a biopsy. The other day of internship, when there was nothing to do, the curator asked his colleague to show me the dialysis room and tell in detail about the procedure.

Living

The Euromed Foundation fully organizes the internship. Accommodation and meals are included in the program. I lived in a hostel with other interns. The hostel workers prepared breakfast for us, and we had dinner at a cafe nearby. They organized a tour of Warsaw and gave us a list of places worth a visit.

My favouritespare time activity was walking in Warsawе
My favouritespare time activity was walking in Warsaw

Throughout the internship, we have received help from the Euromed curator. We turned to him for any questions. The curator shared his own experience, helped to resolve issues, gave advice to those who plan to move to Poland.

Совет студентам-медикам

The internship was very interesting. We had excellent teachers and curators who were always ready to help. If you plan to nostrificate your diploma, obtain a specialization and license for medical internship in Poland, the summer internship will help you prepare for this.

Andin order to get maximum benefit, do not hesitate to ask questions and learn a lot. You are bound to succeed!

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