Hello! If you’re reading my story, you’ve most likely come across the best recruiting agency eva‘! Congrats! I’m pretty sure it wasn’t so easy to decide which lucky agency is going to guide your footsteps on this lengthy pathway you’ve chosen, but trust me on this one, if I‘ve made it this far (I’m actually in Berlin as I’m writing this), you will 100% make it, too. I would like to clarify that this blog was written by a real…
B-E-R-L-I-N I got here on Saturday evening, so I think I’ll name Sunday “Day 0“, as I did all the necessary boring adult things then. The Scheuchs Mrs. and Mr. Scheuch, along with their lovely dog, Eddy, are a super-duper nice family living in Berlin, which have welcomed us into their home with so much joy… They trust mankind strong enough to let us into their lives… and that, my friends, I find rare these days. My experience with them…
If you’re like me, you’re going to be scared as hell on the first day. What’s the teacher like? What about my colleagues? Are we gonna take a test? Take it easy. It would better if you got there at around 9.45 (if you should start at 10). Try to sit as close to the teacher as possible. I didn’t know where would sit, so I accidentally chose to sit across the table from him, so he cannot always hear…
I went to school. Nope, it was not scary. We only read the words and we were allowed to read the anamnesis Qs. It’s so different from Romania. The teacher is calm, he tries to clarify everything, and I believe he has too much sympathy for us sometimes. Howeveeeer… the Romanians and another colleague spoke Russian and Romanian. The teacher simply stated: “Please get out or even return to your homes. You can speak whatever you want there. Here you…
Two colleagues acted the Doctor-Patient play today. The patient didn’t know her own symptoms quite so well (though everything was already mentioned in the clinical case) and the doctor did not follow the anamnesis Qs from the teacher. So he suddenly stopped them and said: “Ok. I believe we’ve heard enough. Your colleagues have paid for this course. We’ll just go on with someone else.” And that was it for the two culprits. As the 3 hours were coming to…
I was so sleepy today. That doesn’t happen very often. I drink way too much coffee and Coke… hmm perhaps I’m coming down with something… I hope not. The teacher said: “You were the patient yesterday, isn’t it?” I just nodded. “You’re the doctor today.” My pleasure! <3 Ok, so I’m sure he noticed how shy I am. He studies me and knows that everytime I look straight at him, it’s because I want to speak or start the new…
The teacher said a funny thing today: “Please try to pronounce the words correctly, you’re no Döner street vendors”. And hell broke loose. My colleagues didn’t really enjoy his comparison…they’re a bit too sensitive :)) But I find the teacher to be actually rather funny: “How come you think that if you say the same thing 5 times wrong…it will eventually turn right?” or “You know, when you’re not following the structure I gave you, I just conclude that you’re…
We’ve known each other for like… 6 days now? What does C. love? Food. Therefore: Saturday = FOOOOOOOD. 🙂 It’s way too cold to go on a walk today and I’m also feeling a bit lazy… buuuut I did go to Rewe. Gotta go there daily 🙂 I think I’m gonna bake something today. Cocoa butter and lime crescents… with poppy seed filling <3 So: I’ve also filmed some of the videos for you guys. I lack the skills, but…
1. Heating… so I played a little with the tiny wheels on the radiators. I set them all at level 4/5. So I’m currently waiting to see what happens… 2. I went to Berliner-Zoo today… You should check it out, but only if it’s warm or at least sunny outside. And pleeease visit the aquarium!!!!!! 3. In case you have no clue, what to eat in the morning. I bake croissants every 3 days (they’re super easy to make) and…
School was pretty light today. I definitely think I am coming down with something. Crap. I’m nauseous and somewhat lightheaded… Not good. Luckily I brought some pills with me. Oh! For those of you who come from Romania, as I do, where one can get basically every medicine they want… uhm… bring some with you. I cannot make it through a cold without Xylometazoline. According to Google it should be available here without prescription… buuuut just bring it with you….
School was really fun today. Or should I say: days like these would be really great normally. I was the patient and it went fine. But I am too damn shy. Still… something new happened today: I actually started responding to the teacher’s Qs. And he encouraged me to go on… he even called me by my name. Wow. Such fab. I guess one wouldn’t understand it unless they’re a shy person, too. But for someone like me… to hear…
I’ve already told you my honest opinion about the teacher. He’s ok, but there are times when he can get a bit too… stiff. Take today for instance: He doesn’t like it when we’re not following his structure. And I’m 70% okay with it… the other 30%… none of his business, I guess. He said an obese patient had this condition because of hypothyroidism… I only partially agree to that; yes, hypothyroidism may cause overweight, but seldom more than +10-12…
Today went on so fast. My thoughts were definitely not at what the teacher was saying. As I already expected I was the patient today. You know, I find it a bit bothering. I’ve already been the patient for three times now and I’ve only once been the doctor. It’s annoying, especially when my colleagues ask the wrong questions, that is, they do not follow the holy structure of the teacher, so he gets annoyed and both me and the…
Today was great. I’m in a so much better mood and school was also great. I conducted the anamnesis as the doctor. My prayers have been heard!!! I find it funny because last night I actually spoke to another colleague, also a Certa candidate (a super cool doctor from India): “Hey dear what are our homeworks for tomorrow?” Me: “We’re gonna start all over from case 01.” V: “So are you ready???” me: “For what? He’s going to say: dear…
I would really love to have some Greek food today. My friends and I met up at 11 a.m in Friedrichstrasse and from there we went to Gedächtnisstätte Berliner Mauer. I already went there a couple of years ago but that doesn’t mean I find it boring now. No. The rest of the wall and the stories that you can read here or even hear and see make me feel grateful for what I have. And I get a full…
Today was the last day with my friend from Paris here. My colleague said she doesn’t want to go out with us anymore today because she wants to do her homework. I already finished my homework last night so I might as well just spend the whole day out today… but it’s a little bit cold so I don’t think I’m going to do that. My friend wanted to visit the historical Christmas Market in Warschauerstraße… I couldn’t understand why…
As you can probably notice, I am starting to have a little bit trouble with keeping up with writing my blog while studying. That’s because we’ve started writing medical letters, which take a bit of practice and a bit of time. But I’m starting to get the hang of it. I also stayed a couple of hours extra for the afternoon course today. And I was actually amazed by it. The teacher was so relaxed and calm and he even…
The morning course was absolutely useless today. We learnt basically nothing new. We just conducted an anamnesis and wrote a letter. I think I got so bored that I had to do something in order not to kill myself from boredom, so I started contradicting the teacher. He said hemochromatosis means Morbus Wilson. And I said: “No, excuse me, that is wrong. Morbus Wilson has nothing to do with iron deposits… it’s with copper”. Or he said: “Hypothyroidism is Hashimoto…
Today was an extra long day. We all stayed at school until 3 p.m. You know some colleagues already know me and they’re starting to like me. That’s really interesting and new for me… and I’m not only talking about the other candidates from Certa. Some write to me at night asking hey, how did you write that, what do you think about this case or about that one, blah blah blah. I am aware of the fact that some…
Someone told me today I should add here a couple of photos of the apartment. I think I should do just that, but I would also like to discuss a little bit about how big this place really is. It is… big. You get the main room, which is absolutely enormous, the bathroom and the kitchen, along with a tiny hallway. I feel as if I were living in a five star hotel. But. As you all can remember, I…