During the month of April 2022, doctors from Armenia, Romania, Slovakia, Serbia, Russia, and Belarus attended clinical OMI observerships at the General Hospital of Vienna and the University Clinic Graz, learning new skills, and acquiring valuable medical knowledge and a solid understanding of the Austrian healthcare system.
Dr. Alexandru Papacocea from Romania attended a clinical observership in the Department of Neurosurgery at the Medical University of Vienna. He stated the following about this experience: “Salzburg seminars and the OMI clinical observership improved my surgical skills and increased my confidence. Since my first OMI seminar, I have expanded my neurosurgical procedures, both in vascular and in tumoral specialities. My medical practice has improved very much. I shared all the knowledge from the seminars with my colleagues, because we are a team.”
Dr. Adela Koudelkova is an anesthesiology specialist working at the Hospital of Merciful Brothers in Bratislava, Slovakia. She mentioned the following regarding her experience of meeting other observers and interacting together: “I highly appreciated the informal discussions among the observers from other countries. We shared our experiences, knowledge, and described the medical system in our home countries as well as the problems we are fighting against.”
Dr. Irina Arustamyan, a specialist in Otorhinolaryngology at the Saint Petersburg Institute of Ear, Throat, Nose and Speech mentioned the following about her experience at the General Hospital of Vienna: “It has been a very productive month, both in medical education and in cultural enlightenment. The set goals were achieved, new knowledge was obtained, and contacts were established. The OMI observership is very inspiring, it fills you with energy to change something in your country, to share new knowledge with colleagues.”
Dr. Nikola Matavulj is a specialist in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University Medical Center Zvezdara in Belgrade, Serbia. He shared about his observership by stating: “I was present in the out-patient clinic and I was in the OR watching all the urogynecological procedures undertaken at the AKH during my Observership. This often led to very constructive discussions with my colleagues.”
Dr. Vigan Mahmutaj is an interventional cardiologist specialist in Pristina, Kosovo. He provided us a detailed description of his observership experience: “During my observership, I actively partook in discussions in management of the patients in the Cath Lab. I participated in cath lab during complex procedures and discussed with the operator the stepwise technique used in the treatment and devices needed to succeed. I was able to learn how to use some of the software devices such as FFR and IVUS. This observership helped me see that we share the same way of patient management, use the same criteria in the decision making, perform the same technique, and use the same strategy. That increased my self-confidence a lot. Also, the interpersonal relations were remarkable, and that is of great importance in succeeding.”
Dr. Artsiom Kutkovich is a urologist working at the 4th City Clinical Hospital in Minsk, Belarus. He stated the following about his time at the General Hospital of Vienna: “The observership program has widened my experience in Austrian medicine very much! It was my first experience in a foreign clinic. Surely, I will share the experience with my Belarusian colleagues. It’s very sad that the time has gone so fast!”
As seen in the photographs, the OMI observers who were based at the University Clinic Graz, doctors Aida Papikyan from Armenia and Marian Pop from Romania, attended a guided tour of the Fools’ Tower in Vienna. The experience ended with a dinner at Gasthaus Rebhuhn in the historical city center of Vienna, where we were joined by the students who attended the Max Kade Clinical Clerkship Program.
