Name: Adam Iskandar
Matric No.: A195840

2. How is your progress?
This week, I’ve become more involved in the clinics. I helped out during newborn hip screening, which my supervisor performs regularly, and was even taught to use the ultrasound! I also feel more comfortable now speaking with the residents and understanding the hospital workflow. On Tuesday, we had a welcome dinner at a local restaurant, which included fun mini-games to help us bond and we even exchanged social media eg. Instagram. On Friday, I followed my supervisor to the OR and I observed a couple of surgeries such as guided growth and ACL reconstruction. Over the weekend, I visited Porto, and it was absolutely stunning.

3. Points to remember from Week 2!

• Newborn hip screening is a key part of paediatric orthopaedics as early detection of dysplasia is crucial to decide if the newborn requires a pelvic harness.

• Ultrasound guidance in orthopaedics isn’t just for radiologists; knowing how to handle the probe and identify basic structures is a useful skill.

• Getting involved makes a big difference residents and doctors are more likely to teach you when they see you taking initiative.

• Social bonding matters amd it’s amazing how much stronger the group feels after just one dinner and a few silly games!

  
  

4. Your feelings & thoughts
This week felt extra meaningful because of how welcoming the paediatric orthopaedic team has been. From supervisors to residents, everyone engages in friendly conversations and treats me as part of the team. I’ve learned so much just by being included and encouraged. It’s motivating to be in such a positive, respectful learning environment.

5. ONE good thing from what you did that you can practice now!
Being more proactive in clinics especially now that I’ve started learning how to operate the ultrasound for newborn hip screening. I’ll carry this initiative and hands-on approach into future postings back home.

6. Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope?

• Language barrier: It’s still a challenge at times, but I’ve picked up key Portuguese phrases and rely on Google Translate and friendly gestures. Most people are patient and understanding, which really helps.

• Food: I’ve been seriously missing nasi kandar! The food here tends to be quite bland compared to what I’m used to. The hospital provides free lunch with generous portions, and I can usually choose between fish or vegetarian options but taste-wise, it doesn’t come close to Malaysian food. To cope, I add a lot of hot sauce and salt to my food.

7. Your plan for next week (Week 3)

• Participate more actively in surgeries and outpatient cases.

• Ask more questions during patient consultations and try to follow cases more closely.

• Keep practicing Portuguese and bond more with international and local students.
  
  

Matric number: A196449

2. How is your progress?

Week 2 was more hands-on and clinically rich compared to the previous week. I had the opportunity to observe a variety of surgical procedures and endoscopic cases, and even assisted in specimen dissection post-surgery.

1. July 7th (Monday): Direct inguinal hernia repair with mesh placed above the posterior wall at the aponeurosis.

2. July 8th (Tuesday): Sigmoid colectomy and liver metastasis resection (tumour ~7cm). I had the rare opportunity to dissect the specimen and localize the tumour myself.

3. July 9th (Wednesday): Multiple scopes

   • OGDS 1: Normal findings; H. pylori test for gastritis.

   • OGDS 2: Incomplete due to intra-procedural asthma attack.

   • Colonoscopy 1: Polypectomy performed.

   • Colonoscopy 2: Inflammatory changes, likely Crohn’s.

   • Colonoscopy 3: Colonic NET, referred for right hemicolectomy.

4. July 10th (Thursday): Outpatient clinic with Dr. Lukasz:

   • Pilonidal disease follow-up

   • Suture removal post-appendectomy

   • Hernia case for evaluation (kiv TAPP)

   • Giant sigmoid colon polyps

   • Sebaceous cysts (finger, back, buttocks)

   • Widening of the linea alba due to obesity and suspected hernia

     
     

Outside the hospital, I celebrated Victoria’s (Mexico housemate) birthday at a local restaurant with other international friends on Tuesday. On Thursday, we had a wonderful national food and drinks exchange hosted by a Polish graduate, Zuza — I brought Milo, and we even made traditional Polish pierogi together. On Friday, I left for a solo weekend trip to Warsaw, where I explored the Old Town, visited several museums, church, palace, and spent time in the beautiful Łazienki Royal Baths Park. It was a peaceful and memorable 3 days 2 nights getaway.

3. Points to remember from Week 2!

• Gaining hands-on experience like dissecting a tumour specimen was an invaluable learning opportunity.

• Exposure to both operative and non-operative cases helped me understand the continuity of surgical care.

• Outpatient clinics showed me the importance of holistic surgical care, including pre- and post-operative management.

• Cultural and social interactions, like the food exchange, deepened my appreciation of global friendships and made me feel at home despite being in a foreign country.

  
  

4. Your feelings & thoughts

This week was fulfilling both professionally and personally. I felt a greater sense of belonging within the team and amongst my international peers. Being trusted to participate in procedures such as specimen handling made me feel more like a part of the surgical team. I am starting to enjoy the rhythm of hospital life here and truly appreciate the mentorship from Dr. Lukasz. The food party and birthday celebration reminded me how meaningful shared experiences can be. I also felt proud of myself for traveling alone to Warsaw — it gave me a sense of independence and self-discovery. Overall, I’m starting to truly enjoy and feel comfortable with this exchange not just for the learning but also for the memories being made.

5. ONE good thing from what you did that you can practice now!

Taking initiative in clinical and social settings. Whether it’s participating in tumour dissection, actively engaging in outpatient clinics, or initiating cultural exchange through food and conversation, I learned the value of being proactive and open minded — a skill that’s useful both in medicine and in life.

6. Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope?

Language barrier is still a challenge especially during outpatient consults, where there’s a lot of fast dialogue. I relied on Dr. Lukasz and peers to translate key points. I coped by asking questions afterwards and discussing findings with Dr. Lukasz. to ensure I understood everything accurately.

Furthermore, in Warsaw, I felt some people were less friendly or distant, possibly due to the language barrier and being visibly Asian. It felt a bit isolating, but I coped by focusing on enjoying the city, staying positive, and keeping in touch with my family or friends for support.

7. Your plan for next week (Week 3)

• Ask permission to scrub in or assist with minor procedures if possible.

• Spend more time in ward or clinic with doctors learning about post-op care and complications.

• Plan a trip with my friends on the weekend at a different city (Krakow or Gdansk)

• Get to know more friends through social programme

Matrics no: A185503

Date: 8th July 2025

How is your progress?

I arrived in Verona on the 30th of June (Monday), after traveling around Italy with my family since the 23rd of June. I was dropped off at the hospital by car and greeted by my contact person from IFMSA, Ruxanda, who kindly guided me to my department—Gastroenterology, located on the 5th floor of the hospital building. There, I was introduced to the Chief of Gastroenterology, Professor Frulloni, and was brought to the doctors’ room, where I met the group of gastroenterologists I’ll be working with for the next two weeks.

My daily activities at the hospital would be just as similar as the ones I would have back in UKM, but limited in a way that I am not able to interact with patients as freely as I do at home, due to the language barrier. However, I actively participate in ward rounds every morning, attach to doctors when they attend to their patients, and follow them to scope rooms for endoscopic procedures. Instead of clerking patients, I mostly learn by observing the doctors here. I was told that Borgo Roma Hospital is the centre for pancreatic diseases, as it is the best pancreatic centre in Italy, and third best in Europe. From my observation, there were a lot of pancreatic and liver diseases in the wards, which was interesting for me to learn about.

Apart from the clinical exposure, I was shown to my dorm, where I share a room with another student, a law major from China.

During my free time, I’ve been exploring Verona with new friends. We visited the city centre, explored the iconic Arena di Verona, enjoyed gelato, went shopping at the mall, and relaxed at the park. Much of this week was about familiarising myself with the city—learning the public transport system, discovering halal food options especially on Glovo (a food delivery service similar to GrabFood), communicating with non-English speakers, adjusting to the presence of so many new people around me, and learning about myself when being alone in a foreign country.

Points to remember from week 2!

•  First impressions matter. Being kind, respectful, and curious helped me build rapport with the doctors quickly.
  
  

• Despite not being able to clerk patients, passive learning through observation and discussion still holds great value.
  
  

• Verona is a walkable, charming city with good public transport—mastering the bus routes helped me feel more independent.
  
  

• Simple joys like gelato, exploring historical sites, or chatting with new friends made the adjustment process more enjoyable.

Your feelings & thoughts 

 Honestly, I was very scared at first. Being a girl and a visibly Muslim person in a foreign country came with a lot of anxiety, especially when trying to make new friends and settle in. I was also cautious when walking alone, especially in crowded tourist areas where pickpocketing is common.

The summer heat in Italy has been another huge challenge. Unlike Malaysia, my dorm has no fans or air conditioning, and the heat here feels more intense. It made it difficult to sleep at night, and I found myself counting the days until I could return home, which funnily enough was the least of things I expected before coming here.

However, in terms of the hospital setting and my learning experience, everything has been wonderful. Although the doctors speak in Italian while they work with each other, they take their time to teach me things in English. I find that the Italian hospitality is very warm & welcoming. In between my daily shifts, the doctors will ask me to get coffee with them, which is when I try to have proper conversations and get to know them better. It is a routine that I can get used to, I believe that our little coffee breaks keep us energised through a long day.

ONE good thing from what you did that you can practice now!

Creative problem-solving and adaptability under pressure. To cope with the heat, I froze large bottles of water, wrapped them in towels, and hugged them to sleep at night, which is something I never imagined doing, but it worked! This taught me that resilience often comes in small, practical forms. I can apply this mindset of improvising and adapting even in clinical scenarios back home when faced with unexpected limitations or challenges.

Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope?

 One of my biggest concerns was dealing with the fear of being alone in a foreign country. After certain unfortunate events that happened to me while I was travelling in Rome, I worried about my safety, and knew it was important to make friends while being here. To cope, I pushed myself to socialise and participate in group activities, even on days when I felt tired or craved solitude. I knew it was important to build friendships here—and I’m glad I did, because I ended up making great friends and truly enjoyed their company.

To manage the heat, I came up with a creative solution—freezing large plastic bottles of water, wrapping them in towels, and hugging them at night to stay cool. It worked surprisingly well and allowed me to sleep more comfortably. Taking showers also became my favourite part of the day—it was such a relief from the heat.

The language barrier posed another challenge. Most patients spoke only Italian, and the doctors usually spoke Italian among themselves during work discussions, which sometimes left me feeling left out. However, the doctors were very kind and made an effort to explain cases to me in English whenever possible while I also made the effort to ask them questions.

Your plan for next week (Week 3)

Now that I have gotten more comfortable around the doctors, I plan to be more proactive—engaging more with the doctors, asking questions, and participating more actively in discussions. I also want to make the most of my free time by exploring more of Verona and visiting some of the historical sites I haven’t seen yet.

Name: Ashley Kon Ai Li

Matric number: A195326

Date: 17th August 2025

2. How is your progress?

This week our supervisor finally had a surgery scheduled and we were able to observe a Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) while he taught us. The other two doctors in the operating theatre spoke excellent English as well so it was a good learning experience. We also had permission to take pictures of the beating heart with the grafted veins after the surgery, and it was beautiful. In the evening, we gathered with the other exchange students and had a Polish dinner at a restaurant in the Old Town. Then we strolled through the Old Town and watched the sunset.

For the next day, Alia and I decided to try observing surgeries from the Orthopedics and Traumatology Surgery Department. We went to the department office and asked the Head of Department if we could tag along for some surgeries and he delightfully agreed. We headed straight into the operation theatre and observed a total hip replacement surgery and knee arthroplasty surgery. The doctors were very welcoming and mostly spoke English. We had a good learning experience from them. It was interesting to observe the calm and slow pace of cardiosurgery versus the hammering of orthopaedic surgery.

On Wednesday, we attended a cardioversion workshop held by the IFMSA committees. We also performed it on a manekin that could detect if the cardioversion is successful. On Thursday, we observed a reversal of some post operative complications of CABG. The patient had bleeding overnight in the ICU after the surgery and therefore the surgeons had to locate the source of bleeding and remove huge blood clots out from the mediastinum.

On Friday, it was a public holiday in Poland. Therefore, Alia and I decided to take a weekend trip to Gdańsk, a town 6 hours away from Lublin. It was a nice and quick getaway from Lublin and it was safe and peaceful even though we travelled alone as two girls.

3. Points to remember from week 2!

• Don’t be afraid to ask. At first I felt shy about going to another department, but it turned out well and I was able to get early exposure to Orthopaedic Surgery.

• I learnt what cardioversion is. It was interesting to learn that a defibrillator is not only used in cardiac emergency situations. It can also be used to treat irregular heartbeats such as atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter.

• Most of the surgeries in the Cardiosurgery department are CABG and Atrial Valve Replacement, which is mostly due to the high risk of Polish people getting cardiovascular diseases. Risk factors include unhealthy dietary habits, lack of physical activity and smoking.

4. Your feelings & thoughts 

For this week, I learnt more compared to last week. It was refreshing to finally understand what the doctor was teaching instead of plainly watching but not understanding. I also feel opportunistic after asking to watch the Orthopaedics surgeries. 

5. ONE good thing from what you did that you can practice now!

Being brave and taking every opportunity given. If I did not try my luck in asking the Orthopaedics doctor if we could watch the surgeries, we would've never had the chance to witness those cool surgeries. I learnt that it’s okay to take the chance, and the worst they can do is say no :)

6. Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope?

The language barrier is still a huge challenge. However, I coped by tagging along the doctors that could speak English. Therefore, I was able to learn more compared to last week. Another difficulty was the lack of different surgeries in the Cardiosurgery department. Our supervisor honestly told us that 70% of the surgeries were CABG, so there wasn't anything more ‘exciting’ happening for the month. However, I coped with this by joining other department’s surgeries to gain more exposure.

7. Your plan for next week (Week 3)

I plan to join other departments such as ‘Invasive Cardiology’ which was more towards Internal Medicine. My other exchange friends said that most of the doctors spoke and taught in English so I’m excited to learn more next week! And I hope I'll have the chance to explore Poland’s different cities or perhaps other countries.

Name: Nur Alia Safiah Binti Ahmad

Matric num: A195284

Date: 16 august 2025

2. How is your progress?
After attending AVR surgeries throughout the first week, we finally had the chance to observe a Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) under our supervisor. It was the very first time we entered the operating theatre with him. Fortunately, he taught us well, and the assistant surgeon also spoke English fluently. It was truly a great experience. We even asked for permission to take pictures during the surgery. In the evening, we had polish lunch with other exchange students at a restaurant in the old town.

On the second day, we decided to join other departments Orthopaedics and Traumatology because we were starting to feel bored in cardiovascular surgery. The first operations we attended were a total hip replacement and a knee arthroplasty. Thankfully, most of the doctors spoke English well, and there was a 6th-year medical student who explained every detail of the procedures from start to finish. I was quite surprised at how quickly orthopaedic surgeries were completed some lasted only about an hour.

On the third day, we attended a cardioversion workshop organized by the IFMSA committee. We were able to practice performing cardioversion on an advanced manikin that could detect whether the attempt was successful.

3. Points to remember from Week 2!

• Don’t be shy about making new friends. This week I tried harder to get to know the other exchange students compared to the first week. During the first week, I rarely went out with them and usually just stuck with Ashley. As an introvert, it was difficult to blend in with new people.

• Try to explore more instead of staying in the same place. If we hadn’t decided to explore other departments, we probably would have ended up watching the same procedure for two weeks straight.

4. Your feelings & thoughts
I feel much better compared to my first week here in Lublin. I’ve slowly started to accept my placement here. It’s such a wonderful experience when doctors can finally teach in English without me struggling so hard to understand their language.

5. ONE good thing from what you did that you can practice now!
Take every opportunity you can because if not now, then when? If we hadn’t asked around about how to enter the Orthopaedic department, we would have never had the chance to observe their surgeries.

6. Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope?
I still can’t find halal food in Lublin, so I’ve been eating vegan meals instead. For our provided meals, the second week’s menu was the worst for me it felt like a nightmare. I honestly can’t imagine how someone chooses to be vegan for life. For me, it’s definitely meat for life!

7. Your plan for next week (Week 3)
I plan to join other departments such as Neurosurgery and Invasive Cardiology, since some of my friends are placed there. I’m planning to tag along with them because they mentioned that a lot of interesting things happen in their departments, and I’m curious to see them for myself.

TAN LIK XIANG

A196144

16^th of August 2025

2. How is your progress?

 My progress in week 2 has been steady and enriching. I’ve had the chance to observe various surgeries, participate in a valuable workshop, and engage in cultural exchange activities, all of which have broadened my clinical and interpersonal skills.

3. Points to remember from week 2!

•  Observed the surgical removal of a cyst in the neck, gaining insight into the procedure and patient management.

• Witnessed robotic surgery for the removal of lung tumors, further appreciating the precision and technology involved.

• Attended a workshop on the recognition and stabilization of critically ill pediatric patients, learning essential emergency skills.

• Participated in a national food and drinks party where I taught European colleagues how to make dumplings, enhancing cultural exchange and teamwork.

4. Your feelings & thoughts

 This week was both exciting and fulfilling. Watching complex surgeries reinforced my respect for surgical teams and the importance of careful patient care. The pediatric workshop made me feel more prepared for emergencies involving children. I also enjoyed the social event, which helped me bond with my peers and share my culture in a fun way.

5. ONE good thing from what you did that you can practice now!

 The pediatric emergency workshop taught me practical skills in recognizing and stabilizing critically ill children, which I can apply immediately in clinical settings.

6. Any difficulties/concerns? How did you cope?

 Some surgical procedures were technically complex, and it was challenging to fully understand all the steps. To cope, I asked questions during breaks and reviewed relevant anatomy and surgical techniques afterward. Balancing clinical work with social activities also required good time management.

7. Your plan for next week (Week 3)

Next week, I plan to focus on actively engaging in more surgical observations and assisting where possible. I want to deepen my understanding of pre- and post-operative care and explore other specialties within the hospital. Additionally, I aim to continue building rapport with the team to enhance my learning experience.