Bavarian students visit Saskatoon - part 1

The College of Medicine participates in an international medical student exchange program with Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, Germany. Two of the students who participated in the exchange program share their experience in the post below.

"I was very happy after learning that I was selected for the exchange program between the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, Germany and the University of Saskatchewan. During the eight-week period I observed four two-week rotations in clinical oncology, gastroenterology, endocrinology and intensive care medicine. People at the Royal University Hospital (RUH) were surprised to meet a European student there; however, for me it was a chance to work in an environment offering a lot of soft-skills learning along with practical and theoretical knowledge.

Observing a part of the curriculum in Canada broadened my horizons in many ways – working directly with First Nations patients, having more time to spend with a patient (which is not often the case in Germany), evaluating each rotation to improve the teaching, learning the flow of the structured interprofessional rounds at the intensive care unit and focusing on the problem-based learning (something Canadian medical teaching institutions emphasize far more intensely)."

Pawel Wrobel
Medical student
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany


"I worked in the Department of Pediatrics for two months together with Julia, another German student. Before our arrival in Saskatoon, everything was taken care of by the undergraduate office. Our housing was set up close to campus,;we got our student ID cards and could access everything there is on campus; and handouts were sent to us, preparing us for our work on the ward.

On the ward, Julia and I split up into two different teams. These two teams each had one senior resident, one younger resident and two to three students. The senior resident was not supposed to have her own patients, so she split the patients between our team and was there to answer questions and check on our work.

On the first day, I got two patients with less complex histories, but that increased during my stay and in the end, I took care of between three to five patients. My job was to examine my patients daily, be up-to-date on their treatment, write their progress notes and present them to the attending physician on rounds. Furthermore, I was able to admit new patients, write their admission and discharge notes, do overnight call shifts and could participate in the many teaching sessions by either preparing and presenting topics to my team or going to clerk seminars with the local students.

All of that was a great experience and helped me quickly improve my medical knowledge and clinical skills. I recommend going abroad as a medical student, learn how things are done differently in other countries, and thereby return with broader horizons."

Sebastian Sigl
Medical student
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany