Samuel Simonson
Athens, Greece
- Which country and department did you work in this (last) summer?
- My exchange was in Athens, Greece in the OBS/GYN unit
- What did you like best about your exchange experience?
- Meeting other students from around the world and travelling throughout Greece were my favorite parts. A few of my favorite experiences involved quickly becoming close friends with a couple of German students, late nights debating politics with my new Russian and Bosnian friends on the rooftop of our flat, learning about the realities of life and medical education in countries not as stable as Canada, and the personal development I found through my solo exploring of Greece.
- What did you like the least about your exchange experience?
- The physicians on the unit I was assigned to were not very accommodating or interested in teaching the students. I found this quite frustrating and expressed dissatisfaction, but nothing was done to improve my situation. This being said, not all hospitals were like this and the hospital I was at was new to the program so this likely factored into my negative experience.
- Would you recommend this exchange and location to another student? Why or why not?
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- I would recommend going to Greece on exchange in general but not to the particular hospital I went to in Athens. Things will likely improve in the future, but I wasn’t impressed by the hospital experience I had and the lack of response on the part of the local Athens committee, so I can’t recommend that to others. On the other hand, the social and travelling experience was phenomenal. I found many opportunities to explore Greece and get to know people from all over the world which I would recommend.
- Which country and department did you work in this (last) summer?
- I went to Cuenca, Ecuador and worked in the department of Cardiology.
- What did you like best about your exchange experience?
- I was lucky enough to be hosted by an Ecuadorian medical student and his family. This provided me the opportunity to compare and contrast the life of a medical student in Ecuador with my own. My experience was truly invaluable from a cultural perspective as I truly had the chance to connect with the local people via my host family. Other highlights were: practicing Spanish, meeting medical students from around the globe and seeing how a hospital functions in another country.
- What did you like the least about your exchange experience?
- My least favourite part about my exchange was commuting to the hospital from my host families house (they were on opposite corners of the city). I had to navigate a complicated and unreliable bus route or pay for an expensive taxi ride.
- Would you recommend this exchange and location to another student? Why or why not?
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- Yes, especially if you are thinking about travelling anyways during the summer. As I mentioned before, I learned a whole lot about Ecuadorian culture through my family but also via participating in the national social program that organized activities for us around the country. Medically speaking, I came back with a lot more confidence in my clinical interactions as I had to rely on far-from-perfect Spanish to interact with my patients. Coming back and working in a familiar environment and speaking English has been much easier than before I left!
Connor Holmes
Cuenca, Ecuador
Selina (Feng) Ji
Suzhou, China
- Which country did you work in this summer?
- I did a clinical exchange in China in the department of Neurology.
- What did you like best about your exchange experience?
- I worked in the beautiful city of Suzhou. Sightseeing was definitely one of the highlights of my exchange. During my exchange, I met 8 other exchange students from all over the world. I spent many summer nights watching the World Cup with them. I also got to learn about the differences of medicine and healthcare around the world. For my clinical exchange, I spent most of my time in the Neurology wards rounding on patients and seeing patients in clinic. It was also very easy to request shadowing experiences in other departments. I was able to spend a few days in the OR as well as the Respirology ward. I was able to see decent numbers of patients every day. Last but not least, the food was AMAZING!
- What did you like the least about your exchange experience?
- I struggled the most with the summer heat! Even if I left for work at 7am, the temperature would already be in the mid 30s. Luckily, my dorm and the hospital both had air conditioning. Oh and one day I found a cricket in my bathroom…
- Would you recommend this exchange and location to another student? Why or why not?
- Although most of the doctors spoke some English, the patients did not. The reason I chose China for my exchange is because I can communicate in Mandarin. It definitely isn’t necessary to be fluent in Mandarin for this exchange. But I recommend choosing a surgical specialty where you won’t have to rely too much on patient communication. Although I complained daily about the heat outside, I fell in love with the city.
- Other comments.
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- The exchange provides a rare opportunity to make friends and build relationships with international medical students and doctors. If you are interested in global health or working internationally, this is a valuable chance.
- Which country and department did you work in this (last) summer?
- I worked in Malta in the Neurology department. I had one attending physician that I was with for the whole month and did a variety of outpatient clinics as well as inpatient ward work.
- What did you like best about your exchange experience?
- I thought the social program in Malta was the best part of the experience. There were around 40 other exchange students that were there for the month of July with me and the local Maltese medical student society had an entire month-long social program for us. There were events almost every day, these included beach trips, a weekend trip to Gozo (one of the islands of Malta), a trip to the famous Blue Lagoon, a National Food and Drinks Party, etc. This was very conducive to making friends during the exchange and I got to know a lot about what medical school is like in other countries.
- What did you like the least about your exchange experience?
- I think you have to be realistic about what you’ll get out of the exchange as far as clinical duties. What I liked least was that my exchange was mostly shadowing, however I was prepared for this before I went. I still enjoyed it because I learned a lot about the different neurological diseases and got to see some interesting cases and procedures such as a lumbar puncture. I also got to participate in teaching sessions by the residents which was very useful. At times I didn’t enjoy shadowing because the patient interaction was often in Maltese and my attending wasn’t always good at translating this into English.
- Would you recommend this exchange and location to another student? Why or why not?
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- I would definitely recommend this exchange and the location to another student. Although I was shadowing, I still learned a lot of medicine and importantly learned about how another healthcare system works other that Canada. I also think meeting medical students from around the world was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I learned a lot about what its like to go to medical school in many different countries. I made lifelong friends on my exchange, got to spend time in a beautiful country while learning some medicine, and got to participate in a number of social activities. I would highly recommend anyone to do an IFMSA exchange.
Adrianna Gunton
Malta
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