Poland Stories

Czes, I’m Resty Isnaini from Yogyakarta, Indonesia.  I am studying medicine in Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta.  As a third year of  medical student, I’m so grateful, I got an great opportunity to become  a participant in the largest student run exchange program SCOPE-IFMSA.
I joined professional exchange program last summer, in Poland. Poland is one of big countries in Europe. I never expected before that I can stay in this beautiful and comfortable country.  I did my clerkship exchange in  Public Central Teaching Clinical Hospital, Warszawa. Yes, quite lucky enough I studied in modern capital city of Poland which is Warszawa.

Every Monday to Friday we went to hospital by Tram (rail vehicle which has its own track). I was accepted in Cardiothoracic Surgery, it’s called Kardiochirurgia in Polish. I was not the only one exchange student in that department, there was also my Indonesian friend, Nurzahra Vianisa, lucky I was. Together, We’ve been following our supervisor doctor, dr. Adam Arendarczyk lekarz. The doctor was so nice to us, he took us to operation room, let us observe and assist sometime. The most common operations that we met everyday were coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and valve replacement. Those two operation were such long operations that can spend 3-6 hours in every operations. In hospital, I fell like I was in my second home where I can meet amazing, kind and humble peoples. The anesthesiologist who lent me his kingdom to observe  closer to the patient, the grandmother-able nurse who made me a coffee while waiting next operation  and another nurses who helped me pre, during, and post assist operations, the co-assistant student who translated medical record from Polish to English and also the patient who greeted us so nice like our own grandmother. Although, not all of the staffs speak English but they were truly help us in their own way.

In Warszawa, me, three of my Indonesian friends and all of exchange students stayed in dormitory. Being a foreign student in a country which is so far from home was not easy for the first time. But, we survived !. In the first two weeks in Poland, I was still afraid to start conversation since we have different accents but the last two weeks were my favorite. Everyday, after finishing our clerkship, we usually had fun together to enjoy Poland, went to different places, tried traditional foods, and many more. The best thing about exchange experience was not only having such a great  knowledge but also having new peoples who become your family. I’m really thankful for this great time. This exchange experiences will be always remembered for my whole life. Dziekuje Bardzo Poland.