Dr. Aleksandra Kaludjerovic from Serbia (specialized in Anesthesiology), Dr. Dzmitry Nitkin from Belarus (specialized in Urology), Dr. Artiola Todaj from Albania (specialized in Surgery), Dr. Mihaly Forian-Szabo from Hungary (specialized in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation), Dr. Bekar Oniani from Georgia (specialized in Cardiac Surgery), Dr. Ilir Hasmuca from Albania (specialized in Orthopedics and Traumatology), Dr. Anush Barkhudaryan from Armenia (specialized in Cardiology), and Dr. Otabek Tursunov from Uzbekistan (specialized in Cardiac Surgery) all attended an OMI observership at the General Hospital of Vienna in the month of October.
Dr. Shamshod Muzaffarov from Tajikistan and Dr. Bereket Gebremedhin from Ethiopia attended a clinical observership in the Department of Neonatology at the University Clinic Graz. Dr. Nino Jashiashvili from Georgia (specialized in Pediatric Hemato-oncology) and Dr. Inva Gjeta from Albania (specialized in Pediatric Emergency Medicine) also attended a clinical observership at the University Clinic Graz. Dr. Sviatlana Garshova from Belarus was assigned to the General Hospital of Salzburg and attended an observership in the field of Neurology. Dr. Marica Lidia Mackic from Croatia was also at the General Hospital of Salzburg and did an observership in Otorhinolaryngology in Dr. Rasp’s department.
Dr. Mihaly Forian Szabo completed a clinical observership in the Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology. He stated the following about his experience as an observer: “Surgeries were very important for me to understand how to do post trauma or post joint replacement, repair surgery rehab, and then make a treatment plan accordingly. I also learned better methods for knee joint aspiration, saw many cases with bone tumors (which is not frequently seen in our clinic), and learned about their possible surgical treatments: knee varus and valgus deviated knee calculation and plan for correction.”
Dr. Marica Lidia Mackic from Croatia stated the following about her experience as an observer in the Department for Otorhinolaryngology at the General Hospital of Salzburg: ‘A very big influence on my surgical skills and anatomy knowledge was the use of the 3D simulator for temporal bone drilling, which was available at the clinic, as well as some new surgeries and surgical techniques that I saw in the OR”.
Dr. Bereket Gebremedhin is a neonatology specialist from Ethiopia. He attended a month long clinical observership in the Neonatology Department at the University Clinic Graz. He described the observership experience as follows: “My experience as an observer has had a tremendous impact on my mindset since it provided me with a practical way to see how medicine is progressing. For example, due to high standards of care and evidence-based medicine, many extremely premature and extremely low birth weight neonates survived serious complications associated with prematurity. In addition, the healthcare-associated infection rate is extremely low due to a remarkable infection prevention and control system.”
Dr. Shamshod Muzaffarov from Dushanbe, Tajikistan also attended a clinical observership at the Neonatology Department in Graz and described his time there as “… an invaluable experience for my work. In the future, we will organize and implement those experiences that our Austrian colleagues have accumulated over the years.”
Dr. Ilir Hasmuca is a specialist in Orthopedic Surgrey at the Trauma University Hospital in Tirana, Albania. He attended a clinical observership in Dr. Windhager’s Orthopedics and Traumatology Department at the General Hospital of Vienna. He described the effect on the improvement of his methods in the following manner: “I was so lucky because during my observership, I had the opportunity to see some rare surgeries, which means that I acquired unique experience and knowledge.”
The observers had the opportunity to attend several social events, which gave them a better understanding of the history of medicine in Austria.