Professional Exchange Program

Lodz, Poland
By : Yan Annanto Sudibyo

Clinical Professional Exchange program of activities as a elective block held by

IFMSA SCOPE is a very valuable experience and memorable for me. I got a lot of new
experiences that I never get in Indonesia. I implement the exchange program for one month, in
the city of Lodz, Poland, which is a city which is only one hour by road from the capital city of
Poland, ie Warsaw. I implemented this program with 30 other incoming from various countries
in the world. A pride and joy as they may have new friends who come from other countries. We
all stayed in the same place, precisely in medical student dormitory of the University of Lodz.
University of Lodz is one of the best universities in Poland. The University was founded on 24
May 1945. The medical faculty at this university is one of the best medical college in Poland,
precisely into the top 5. Medical faculty of teaching hospitals lodz have only one, namely
Barlicki Sziptal, but the medical faculty of lodz has many hospitals that establish cooperative
relations with him. In this city I was placed in Centralny SZPITAL Kliniczny. The hospital is a
hospital that is still fairly new, only 2 years because of all operating, but the hospital will be the
central hospital in the city of Lodz and became a teaching hospital medical faculty of the
University of lodz. I live on is the Department of General Surgery. For me, this department is an
interesting thing for me, because in Indonesia I have not been getting all sorts of procedures
surgery, it's just that I've got it when skill lab, such as making sutures and removing stitches, at
least I have these provisions, although it was still very little knowledge.
I should have started activities clerkships as at 1 August 2016, but on that date I have
just come to the hospital to do some sort of registration and recognition of the condition of the
hospital and met with the head of the general surgery department at the hospital. I came to the
hospital with my contact person, and he is a student of the faculty of medicine university of lodz.
Each incoming'll get a doctor supervisor is responsible for guiding incoming during this
program. Special surgery incoming got scrubs that must be worn while in the hospital. On my
second day commenced at 08.00, and in the morning I followed some sort of apple in the
morning, and at that time I was introduced by the head of department to all medical personnel in
the department.
Clerkships activity was carried out for 4 weeks, with the work schedule from Monday
to Friday from 8:00 to 13:00 pm (5 hour). But in reality there would have been 5 hours per day,
because I want to get more experience. The interesting thing, every Friday I did this activity was
not until 5 o'clock, because on that day I as a Muslim is obliged to carry out the Friday prayers.
So every Friday my permission to finish early at 11.00, and doctors in there r allow me. Distance
from Rs mosque about 50 minutes using the tram road trip.

Every day before carrying out these activities, I attended the first report. Report is a
report of activities undertaken by all medical personnel in the department to department heads
about the procedure that has been done to the patient on the day before and also discuss what
would be done to the patient in the day. Once the report is finished I went straight to the
operating room if at that time the surgical procedure is ready, but if not I join doctors to visit
patients.
In the operating room has been tacked operating schedule. In the schedule shown
patients who undergo surgery, type of surgery, the doctor in charge, and included my name is
definitely indicated. In any surgical procedure I was only allowed as an observer, but I was
allowed to act as an assistant when the operation took place and I was monitored and guided by
the doctor on duty at the time. The first operation which I acted as assistant is thyroidectomy.
But I do not act as an assistant every day, depending on availability of space when the operation
took place. As the flow of operating procedures that each patient to be operated getting history
and physical examination in advance and given an explanation of the actions that will be
performed during surgery, so patients can understand the benefits and the risks and side effects
that may arise. Patients were then contacted by the Coordinator of Nursing to provide all
information necessary to perform preoperative anesthesia and visited a few days before the
surgery. After an operation the patient did not directly returned to the ward room of his coming,
however, patients entered into the recovery room and monitoring to see if the presence of a post-
operative complications. Later the same day, the medical team who operated on before
evaluating the results of earlier operations and further planned actions / therapy for the patient.
 the nice thing when you're outside of the hospital is my diuandang to dinner with one of
the doctors in the hospital. His house is quite far from my dorm, but he would pick me up and
also want to deliver me back to the dorm. when I got home he was, I was treated with typical
food poland and share stories about many things, such as the Indonesian culture and poland.
I was very fortunate to have an experience like this.