Carolina Gomes and Leonor Raposo, fifth-year students of General Medicine, spent their practical internship at the University of Lisabon, Portugal. They write an essay and send pictures.
Since our third year we had been considering doing the Erasmus program, and, finally, in our fifth year we had this awesome opportunity given to us and we chose our own country, Portugal. It may be weird to think that two girls from Portugal would choose their own country to study for first year, but the truth is that after graduating we would like to return and work in our native country. This said, we saw this as the perfect opportunity to get in touch with Portuguese hospitals, and get to experience practicing Medicine in our country.
We chose the University of Lisbon because it is one of the most important and well known faculties of medicine in Portugal, and we don't regret it at all!
Although we didn't have a common Erasmus experience, because we already knew the language and the city, we still believe it was a positive experience for us academically and personally. Without this language barrier we got to see from the front row how hospitals run in Portugal and we were able to network with future colleagues and professors. We got to know students from many countries, that were also involved in the Erasmus program, and finally we enjoyed the amazing country that Portugal is, good weather and gastronomy, stunning beaches and places to visit. When you can mix study with pleasure, everything goes better.
Overall it was a memorable experience and we recommend it.
