CMC has been always a very attractive place for students to come from all over the world for their elective terms . In the recent times, the college felt that it would be equally beneficial for CMC students to go abroad. Recently six medical students from CMC had gone on an Elective Exchange Programme for 4 to 12 weeks to foreign universities.
They have returned, richly enriched by their experiences. Neeraja and Amith Balachandran went to Karolinska Institute, Stockholm (Sweden), Mithun Prakash went to Maastricht University, Netherlands, Sonam Shah and Meghana visited the National University of Singapore and Naveen Kuriakose went to Kyoto University, Japan. Here is what they have to say about their experiences:
Amith and Neeraja: ‘We had the opportunity to visit Karolinska University, Stockholm, Sweden under the Linnaeus-Palme Exchange Programme during April – June 2012. For two months we did clinical rotations in different departments like Surgery, Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine. We also did a course on ?Medical Development in Europe? which was conducted in association with the Kaunos Klinikos, Kaunas (Lithuania) and the University of Florence, Florence (Italy). The course involved lectures, clinical visits and group activities in each of the three universities and it gave us an overview about the general health situation in Europe. Overall, it was an amazing, unforgettable and incredible learning experience.’
Mithun: ‘I visited Maastricht University in the Netherlands for a period of 45 days. I chose an elective called Hypoxia and Cancer which dealt with cancer as a whole as well as the role that hypoxia has on making cancer cells resistant to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The course included designing drug trials and getting them approved by a grant committee as well as sessions on CAT (Critical Appraisal of a Topic) and many practicals on Immuno histochemistry and Western Blotting. I was also able to travel a lot and see many places and interact with many interesting people. On the whole, it was an enriching experience, one that I would treasure dearly.’
Sonam and Meghana: ‘we were fortunate to go to National University of Singapore for our exchange programme in May 2012 for 6 weeks. We had an enriching experience in three departments. We opted for electives in Cardiology, Neurology and Emergency Medicine. We had the opportunity to interact with senior doctors as well as the students of the University, which also exposed us to the medical system of Singapore. It was an enjoyable learning programme, which also made us appreciate our own medical system.’
Naveen: ‘Konnichiwa. I had the privilege of doing an internship at Kyoto University or Kyodai, which is a centre of academic excellence and cutting edge research set in the heart of Kyoto City, Japan. I worked at Professor Shunichi Takeda?s laboratory for a month where I was fortunate to get hands-on experience on multiple research techniques. I attended related seminars and classes and was even able to spend time with clinicians at the University Hospital. It put research in a whole new perspective. On the whole, the entire trip was a very educative one and it served as an eye-opener to the fascinating world of research.’