A five-year student of General Medicine (International), Markéta Tolarová, passed the K-10 course, where she was given the opportunity to shadow a doctor she had chosen according to her favourite specialisation directly at the clinic. She wrote an essay about her experience for our website.
K10, the 10-day course during which students are given the opportunity to shadow a doctor in the specialty of their choice, is an excellent opportunity granted to us by our faculty that allows for an integrative, personalized learning experience far different from what we are used to.
My priority in choosing in which specialty to shadow was finding the one where I believed I would learn the most. I wanted to observe a field that was intellectually stimulating, clinically challenging, and with a lot of variety in cases so that I would be exposed to as much as possible in the short time I had. Although a difficult list of requirements to fulfill within a single specialty, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology met each and every one.
On my first day, I was welcomed to the department’s morning meeting, where patient updates and progress was reported and discussed. Although I was immediately intimidated by the number of esteemed figures I recognized, the overwhelming kindness of those within the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology department was certainly enough to cease my anxiety. This impression held throughout my entire experience of K10; everyone whose work I had the pleasure of observing made me feel comfortable, included, and thoroughly mentored. Following the meeting, I was taken by Dr. Slámová, my primary mentor in K10, to the ward. Her energy and enthusiasm for her work and her patients was intoxicating, as she led me to meet the children she was working with and allowed me sufficient time to familiarize myself with their cases and treatments. A fantastic aspect of her teaching style was the level of involvement she encouraged. I was allowed to spend as much time as I wanted with individual patients to fully get to know their story, visit them whenever I requested, and she supplemented each patient encounter I had with a thorough discussion to help me fully understand the theoretical facets of disease and the therapeutic process.
Each day I spent within the department was filled with exciting new experiences. The wonderful Dr. Formánková led me through the transplant unit, and the exceptionally clever and jovial Dr. Smíšek took me to see my first bone marrow biopsy and then to observe his ambulance. I was also invited to sit in at the faculty’s Tumor Board, where specialists from a variety of fields come together to discuss fascinating oncology cases.
In the second week of K10, I was tasked with presenting a case report at the department’s afternoon meeting. Dr. Slámová took the time to assist me in every way possible, and provided me with a number of helpful articles to supplement my knowledge. Despite my unfortunately stunted Czech language skills, everyone kindly observed my presentation and spoke positive congratulations following.
It is hopefully quite clear that I would emphatically recommend the choice of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology for K10. I began the rotation unsure in my grasp of knowledge of hematology and oncology, and not particularly enthusiastic about pediatrics. On completion of K10, I find myself enthralled with the facets of pediatric care, pediatric patients, and far more confident in my understanding of the difficult theory underlying the study of hematology and oncology. I am thoroughly grateful to all the members of the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology department for providing me with the opportunity to evolve my knowledge in such an enthusiastic, brilliant, and supportive environment.
