Greetings from Malta!

I am very sorry, that I haven´t written for a long time, cause my internet use is quite limited here. In any case, I have done already my radiotherapy placement and now is running my final placement in accident and emergency department.

When I had radiotherapy, then I had to go to Valletta, because Sir Boffa Hospital (oncology hospital) were there. Valletta locates in 6 km from my hostel, so I used public transport a lot J. But it takes almost an hour to get to Valletta, even if it is less then 10 km because the traffic here is insane, so you have to reserve little bit more time if you want to get in time. In oncology hospital there were very international working team from India, Netherlands, Serbia and only few maltese radiographers. But staff there were very friendly and they were very happy to see me there. The principal radiotherapist very good teacher, he explained all the time what is going on in the department and he instructed me how to position the patient and how to use remote control of the equipment. I had really good time there.

Now my two weeks I´ll spend in casualty, this is place, wher they are doing examinations for emergency patientś and also chest x-rays for the inpatient´s. Already in my first day radiographers let me to do examinations. There are no differencies in positoning the patient but equipment is different comparing with estonia. In Mater Dei hospital there are only GE equipment and this is all digital.

One day I spent in operating theatre and I saw what are radiographers doing there. I had a opportunity to observe operation of ankle and wrist, this was really interestingJ.

Weather unfortunately haven´t been very good most of the time is cloudy, however when the sun is shining it is really hot, but I am quite surprised that I have seen the rain a lot here even the locals say, that this year have been surprisingly rainy.

Silja Tammai

Practice in Jurmala

Greetings from Estonia!

As we remember, it was a wonderful and educating time in Riga and we were very glad to meet foreign medical personal and exchange experience with them. On our practice mission we had MRI, CT, Angeography, X-ray and other departments to deal with. It was very comfortable, that one of us could speak Latvian language and both of us were abble to communicate on Russian with our colleagues and teachers.

Speaking about X-RAY for children, it was interesting and difficult to study, because of patience needed there, politenes and allso careful, tolerant work. Angeography was interesting as well.
After our hard lessons and practice we were abble to visit many interesting places in Latvia. We were visiting many different, interesting places all over the Riga: Lido, aqua park, opera, cinemas and even in night club :). We were allso in Sigulda town.

We want to say BIG thank you to Danel and Aiga - our coordinators. And allso thanks to Zinaida Läänelaid for opportunity to participate in ERASMUS programm. Allso thanks to all colleagues, students and other medical personal from Estonia and Latvia.

Tatjana & Zinaida.

Practice in Toila

Hi,
Here's yet another week has passed. Now I feel like at home here, everything here is well known and familiar. Staff here are very friendly and patient, always willing to help, give advice or teach. My massage skills everyday are improving, so I has started work on my own.
It is unfortunate that this week has been bad weather: rain and cold. However, after a day's work I can always go to the swimming pool, gym, thermae. I hope that next week will be better weather and I could go to sea, have a sunbathe.

Giedre

Greetings from Barcelona!

Now I had finished my first really nice practice in here and I am doing the second one. First department was nefrologia and vasculatoria and the second is day hospital of oncologia and hematologia. I like it, but the first practice was a little bit better, because generally I don't like day hospital. The pacients are changing all the time and the work there is quite rutine. In spite of this, the abilities what I can learn there are certainly really useful to me. The stuff are also really friendly and nice.

And this, how quickly the time is passing in here, is really incredible. I feel like I just came to here, but it was almost three months ago and now I have only three weeks left. And my cursemate Maarjo has already finished his practice in here and he left to home.

Now the weather is also really nice and warm, but fortunately not too hot yet:).

Best wishes,

Kertu

Practice in Toila

Hello,
I am Giedrė, student from Kaunas College, Health Care Faculty (from Lithuania). I came to Estonia 16, May. First two days I spent in Tartu. It is very beautiful city. I want to thank Daniel for a beautiful and welcoming reception and also I want to thank for all people, who helped me to reach Toila.
Now I am in Toila SPA hotel and I am going here to have six weeks of practice. It is a wonderful place and everybody are very friendly here. Of course, I have difficulty for language, but I think that every day will only be better and better.

Giedrė

Practice in Riga (Jurmala)

Hello from Jurmala,
The closer the summer comes the more colorful Jurmala becomes. It is so beautiful that it is even hard to come back to hostel. The air is so fresh. We are really happy we could visit Jurmala and had a chance to stay there for such a long time.
Since last blog we have managed to pass practice in ray therapy in Stradini hospital. We are glad we have done it since this was somenthing new for us. Many thanks to Stradini work collective who helped us and answered to all our questions. Ray teraphy department has undergone reconstruction so it was very confortable to learn and stay there. Interesting fact about the reconstruction is that the premises of the department are located in cellar and during reconstruction works workers found a room which was not even mentioned in construction plan. Who knows what it was made for. Hospital decided to leave the room as it looked like when it was found. The room is used for different meetings now.

Tatjana & Zinaida

The End

Last week passed so fast for us, we hardly noticed that. Anyway, the last week was full of getting to know new knowledges about microbiology and it was also really interesting and new for us. In laboratory we did a lot work by ourselves and we were great :) Last day we thanked our instructor and brought a really nice cake as well. In the evening we did something more fun. We visited national park of Kemeri, which was really cute and all surroundings was nice, but still it´s really old and there are a lot of work which is needed to be done. The next evening was so nice outside that we decided to go to Majori and to get the right Jurmala´s feeling on Jomas street – by enyoing really delicious food in the outdoor cafes. And something else....at long last we visited Livu Akvaparks, we just were waiting for a good weather to go there. And we don´t regret that at all. Those really cool atractions...we had so much fun out there. And of course..this pool bar....delicious cocteils they made there...yammmi :)
Those were our last adventures in Jurmala. It was really hard to leave that place, because we made so many friends in dormitory....they are all just wonderful students. At least Jurmala is not so far from Estonia and especially from Tartu :) So we can go there whenever we would love to.
Those six weeks were GREAT and a BIIIIG thank you to our coordirators Danel and Aiga (from Jurmala). Aiga helped us so much and it is hard to find someone who would be as nice as her :) Thank you to all, that we had such an amazing and unforgettable time in Jurmala.

Always your´s Mirian & Olesja

Microbiology laboratory praxis starts...

From this week we are in the microbiology laboratory. This labor is situated in a different building, that´ s why they have a lot of rooms where to work, nevertheless some of the rooms are quite narrow. There are a lot of work to do and we are lucky because of that, as we have a lot of praxis by ourselves :) After our laboratory work, we also found a time to visit market of Riga. It was incredibly big and full of fresh vegetables and fruits. We found strawberries and melon which were both really sweet and tasty :) For Friday night there was a plan to go to play bowling with Spanish and German students and of course there were also Latvian students with us. It was a great evening and we continued that night with two Spanish students on the Essential club in Riga. On Saturday we went with (Spanish) Raul, Virginia and Erika to the Majori. It´s located 40 minutes from Jurmala by walking distance. It was such a nice weather and we decided to go there by beach :) When we arrived it was such a pleasure to eat a really good ice cream and enjoy sunshine. As it was the last day for Spanish students…it was a little night organized for them where we could talk about everything what happened during their staying in Latvia. After all, Jurmala is going ever nicer and nicer day by day. It is so sad to think, that we are going to leave such a nice place on the next week.

Olesja and Mirian

Seven weeks in Lisbon

Today started our 7th week in Portugal. We arrived on 26nd of March after a 12 really long hours in Tallinn, Vilnius, Amsterdam and finally Lisbon. So when we finally arrived here, we were really tired, but nontheless happy. Fortunately we had our loyal tutors Claudia and Filipa waiting for us at the airport although the flight was delayed. In the beginning there was a little misunderstanding with accomodation, but it turned out fine. Anyway, our apartment is nice and beside ourselves here’s living other international students.

Within these weeks we have seen a lot of Lissabon and even south Portugal. We have met lots of new people from Portugal and also from around the world and even met some Estonians.

Weather has been really good – probably the highest temperature so far has been 32 ̊C. People are really helpful and although mostly they don’t speak english, we can always manage, even if it means explaining with hands and feet. It’s quite amazing how much time they have and there’s never any rush.

We started our practice on 29th of March. The bases are great and peaople are really helpful. We probably won’t reach all our goals, but still, we’re satisfied, cause most of the bases are places where we can’t go at home. For example, Roman was doing his practice in NAVI toxicology lab. Also we’ve seen molecular biology and at the moment in mycology lab. We are also going to local blood bank.

We were lucky to attend some local classes about PCR, but it turned out to be quite similar.

We also found our school logo in Lisbon, it’s somekind of ice-cream company logo and reversed, but still, remainds us home.

Warm greetings,

Roman, Laura, Tiina

4 week in Jurmala

Last weekend we went home. By bus it takes 4 hours from Riga to Tartu. It´s quite long trip in view of that in the bus it is a little bit narrow. Anyway the price is quite reasonable for this trip (by train it´s more cheaper), with the same amount of the price we can take a trip in Estonia from Tartu to Tallinn. So we arrived to the laboratory and the first question what our instructor Irina asked from us: ``Do you still remember that we have tonight a trip by discobus ``???!!! Of course we remembered that, how can we forget :) After that we were teached by a doctor to observe blood preparates under the microscope, finishing that day in laboratory we went by train as usually to the dormitory to do preparations for the night. This evening was unforgettable. Suddenly there was a big bus in front of our dormitory and the music which played there was really loud...I guess it sounds to everyone around 100m. We stepped in and voila....the party starts. There were 5 laborant technicians from Paula Stradina hospital. Our route took us to the beach of Jurmala and we saw a big turtle there...it was funny, everyone tried to clime on that turtle :) After that, we went to see Daugava, Lido and the most important Riga on nigt lights. All stopping places were amazing where we took a lot of beautiful photos and also found out about Latvian history. The old town of Riga was really really nice with all these night lights....we enyojed that a lot. In the bus was playing music and the bus owner was also there as a DJ. Incredible night we had and that all thanks to our amazing instructor IRINA :) Other days were pretty much usual...dormitory-laboratory. Unfortunately our time in Clinical Laboratory ended at the end of the week. To show how grateful we are...we made by ourselves a diploma also nice posy of flowers and of course a cake. In fact, it´s impossible to describe all the warmth, kindness and of course professional, experienced by the past four weeks we were there.

Olesja and Mirian

Hello everybody from Madrid

Anneliis
Hello everybody. Time goes so quickly down here, because the city is so big and so beutiful and there is lot to do. Our neighbourhood turns out to be really good and safe place to live. And there is RealMadrid homestadion nearby as well as my first practic place, Hospital San Rafael, which is private hospital, and they say it is a lot different than public hospital. My next practice is in public, so in the end I can compare them. Anyway about my practice, childrens physical therapy is really interesting. There is a big room for all patients, and there is a lot of noise, but in one corner is separated box, where one physical therapist deals only with children, there I´m spending most of my time, still observating, but it is interesting to see how therapist uses different methods and gets the contact with children. Most of the patients have neurological problem, and the main method therapist uses is Bobath. The tutor is nice and we get good contact when the children are alone, but most of the parents are there and they ask about condition of their child and communicate, so I´m watching what therapist does and practise my listening and understanding of spanish:D Anyway i have been there for 2 weeks, 4 more, and hope to get my hands attached as well. But i´m pleased even now
Kaisa
Ou yes! Time goes too fast here. And finally we started our practice! I’m doing it in a litte school – Colegio de Integracion Motorica Mejico, where are also children with motoric problems. My tutors are really nice people and helpful, and know their work perfectly. There is two of them – Pablo and Marisa. Pablo speaks a litte english but Marisa doesn’t. It’s hard, but my understanding of spanish gets better every day. I definitely learn a lot from them, especially the attitude and communicating with children. Over the past 2 weeks I have never seen a sad child. Children are truly happy there and always come to physiotherapists room with a smiling faces! Also the techniques and different ortosis, machines, exercises, rare diagnosis – I’m really lucky to be there, to see all that and practice. I have done some lessons and helped physiotherapists, but it’s hard, because I don’t speak that good spanish. I hope that everything we’ll be as good as right now. 

Jurmala

This week was full of events. We are so glad to tell that students in Jurmala have time and energy to deal with a lot of different stuff besides school duties. On Tuesday, there was a song concert at school, where we had a chance to listen songs from school choir. And again we were convinced that latvian sounds so nicely and this is of course thanks to amazing voices of choir singers too :) On Wednesday we had a new event in our schedule – competition of orientation. We were called to the team by one latvian girl Valentina. The minimum amount of the team members were 5, so besides three of us, there were also two latvian girls. In orientation we had to pass seven points, in each point we had some kind of tasks to solve. At start there was a rain but luckily it stopped quite soon :) From 9 teams, we got 4th place and for premium we got candies. The first three places got champagnes and candies as well :) To all competitors were given tea and biscuits, to get fast in a good shape. After that we were all celebrating our places and that was an amazing evening for all of us. In laboratory are everything fine and we´re getting smarter day by day. In one day we were listening with spain students to a lecture on blood coagulation and related factor by Siemens company agent. Also we are doing there routine duties as well. At the end of the week, we had a chance to visit one Latvian private laboratory which was quite big and modern.

Mirian and Olesja