Summer Practice in Brno, Czech Republic

I have spent a month in Brno, Czech Republic from 1st Aug to 31st Aug. It was one of the best month in my life. This IFMSA SCOPE Professional Exchange program was the best way to improve my knowledge of medicine abroad. On the other hand, I have met many nice people from all over the world.
In the hospital
It is the largest hospital in Brno (Fakultní nemocnice Brno, which means University Hospital, Brno), the main building has got 17 floors. I was in the Department of Cardiology. I had the opportunity to visit all part of this department (inpatient units, CCU – Coronary Care Unit, electrophysiology center,
haemodynamic and interventional unit, rehabilitation, etc.), and I could be the part of the doctor’s team. I took part a few minimal invasive operations and assisted in scrub (pacemaker / ICD implantations). The only difficult part was the language problem: I do not speak Czech, the most patients do not speak English, so it was hard to find a way to communicate, but all the doctors were very kind and helpful.
In Brno
Brno is the 2nd largest city in Czech Republic, the capital of Moravia. There are countless spectacles, for example: St. Peter's and Paul's Cathedral, St. James Church, Spielberg Castle, etc. And one of the most important is the original, the traditional Czech beer. There is Brno’s beer factory, called: Starobrno. Near the city there is a huge cave system (the biggest is the Punkva Cave) in the middle of the Moravian Karst.
People
There were 20 exchangers (ratio: 19 girls and me, so it feels like “Charlie and his angels”). There were many “neighbors” (or close to “neighbors”) from Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania, and from farther away (Portugal, Spain, Latvia, Brazil, Ecuador, China, etc.). It was so great
to see how different we are, how different our cultures are and how different our way of thinking are. We have got to know the educational and the health care system in different countries, and we could compare them. 

Events
There were a lot of organized events for us. Welcome diner, sightseeing, pub crawls, international food and drink party, bouldering, volleyball, laser game, MotoGP race (!!!), beer factory, many museums and a goodbye party. During the weekends we travelled to other cities (Bratislava and Prague), visited
the Moravian Karst (in Blansko), or just spent our free time in Brno. There were three academic quality events: med quiz, surgical sewing course and presenting a case report.
Summary
I am interested in most parts of internal medicine and I have got a lot of impressions and experiences about different parts of this field during my exchange. I have met many people, I made a lot of friendships, and I really miss them. I have found only advantages of this exchange program.
At last but not least, I totally recommend to be an exchange student.
Enjoy the World! Travel with IFMSA!