Reviews and Ratings

Reviews by the Internists who participated in our Internship Programme:

“Being in the pre-clinical part of our studies, it was particularly interesting to get introduced to the clinical work. We much appreciated being shown so many different faculties in the hospital.”

“As I am still at the beginning of my ‘medical career’ there are so many (even ‘small’) things that are new and interesting for me in a hospital. Accordingly it is difficult to give a precise summary of achievements. The greatest achievement in my opinion is that I really widened my horizon by coming to such a different country I didn’t know much about before. I had a lot of sometimes even small but nevertheless very interesting conversations or talks that helped me to understand the way things go in India. It was great to learn how your medical branch works, it was teaching, to talk to students, doctors, nurses or ‘normal’ travellers in trains about their lives, it was overwhelming to experience so much hospitality and curiosity. Finally, it was important for me to see with own eyes, circumstances of life that many people here in Europe cannot even imagine that they exist.”

“They were very much aware of all my needs; this internship will be unforgettable. Directors planned everything with a lot of professionalism, and seriousness. They are very dedicated people; they don’t miss any single opportunity to bring you assistance, and answer to any of your needs… impressive!”

“Excellent organisation of our internship, commencing from the information we received prior to coming to India, airport pick-up through accommodation, and facilities viz. broadband, laundry, etcetera; everything was organised very well. We appreciated the accessibility of Dr. Ankur Kalra. It was very good to be in constant touch with him (we recommend internship students to bring cell phones with them).”

“Mrs. Sadhna and Mrs. Gupta both took care of us in a very special way, and we are more than thankful for their excellent job! We had a very effective learning experience due to the co-operation of all the doctors, and nursing staff. They were always open to answer any questions, or to explain concepts in ways subjective to our current knowledge base.”

“The patient care training in Kalra Hospital was a great experience for me. As I am in the preclinical part of my studies, I had not seen much before. During my stay at Kalra Hospital, I did not only learn much about patient care, but also about many other medical skills. For example, I learnt the basics of ECG, auscultation, and how to check X-Rays. Another great experience for me was the opportunity to watch many different operations. The highlights were a bypass-surgery, and a delivery. I really enjoyed my stay in India. I think an internship in Kalra hospital is the best way to experience the Indian way of life. I cannot imagine a better way to get to know a country than working in a hospital, because by this I had the chance to get in contact with many people, and different parts of the society.”

“As we had only just finished the first year, some lectures and teachings were ‘out of our medical reach’; however, it was very useful to show what we already knew, so yes, our current skills were somewhat incorporated.”

"In my four weeks of internship, I was able to obtain an insight into the clinical practice including basic patient care training, as well as administrative work, and enhanced medical tasks like diagnostic procedures, and medical attendance, including also some impressive operations under the viewpoint of encountering a completely different culture, and society and subsequently a different health care system as well. Based on the differences in organization, as for example the distribution of tasks in the ward, which I noticed, opened my mind to alternative administrative concepts.

I managed to develop a better understanding, and higher sensibility for different approaches to things connected with terms like "health", "illness", or "body awareness". This insight increased my awareness of the necessity to consider the cultural, and/or religious/philosophical background of a patient to avoid diagnostic misjudgment.

On the other hand I achieved to improve my skills in the field of patient care training, and especially in the field of basic diagnostic procedures. The guidance offered by the nurses and doctors in combination with the large amount of opportunities to practice e.g. the measurement of blood pressure, and pulse or auscultation in particular, helped me to become much more confident, and competent in carrying out those tasks. In addition I achieved to attain new competences like the basic understanding of how to approach an X-Ray, or ECG.

Additionally I want to say that I had various opportunities to have conversations, and interaction with the patients, and their families on a personal level which was a special personal enrichment of high value to me.

Furthermore Dr. R.N. Kalra, Dr. Ankur Kalra, and the other doctors always spend time on explaining different medical issues to us, and answering our questions although they were more than busy. Especially Dr. Ankur Kalra tried to be accessible all the time to offer a perfect frame for the internship, although he was busy in many fields. But I also want to point out that everybody else in the hospital, like the nurses, and other employees were always very supportive and helpful."

[By Ingo Ganzleben Sep-Oct 06]

Reviews by the Internists who participated in our Internship Programme:

Key: 1=Poor, 2=Needs Improving, 3=Satisfactory, 4=Good, 5=Excellent

Suggestions:
“Actually there is only one major thing that could be improved: Sometimes we would have loved to be even more integrated into the practical work of a department. First you could show the internist the work of a faculty, then, after a few days, you could assign him a job in this department that he has to carry out. We know that there are some language problems but nevertheless we think it would be possible. Strengthening the practical part would mean a great improvement for the whole programme.”

“At the beginning we all felt a bit shy to interact on our own with patients. Maybe, it would be easier with the help of a short introduction by the nurses.”

Comments, ratings, and suggestions by the following students:
(In alphabetical order)

Ms. Anna K. Schlenker Bø
Student, University of Heidelberg, Germany
Internist with KH Aug-Oct 06

Ms. Annelot Krediet
Student, University of Heidelberg, Germany
Internist with KH Jul-Aug 05

Ms. Athanasia Georgiou
Student, Hanover, Germany
Internist with KH Mar-Apr 06

Mr. Christian Ayer
Student, Switzerland
Internist with KH Sep-Oct 05

Mr. Florian Scheibe
Student, University of Heidelberg, Germany
Internist with KH Feb-Apr 06

Mr. Gunnar Birke
Student, University of Heidelberg, Germany
Internist with KH Aug-Sep 06

Mr. Ingo Ganzleben
Student, University of Heidelberg, Germany
Internist with KH Sep-Oct 06

Ms. Iris Lorenz
Student, Hanover, Germany
Internist with KH Mar-Apr 06

Mr. Patrick Riedmaier
Student, University of Heidelberg, Germany
Internist with KH Jul-Aug 05

Mr. Rastislav Pjontek
Student, University of Heidelberg, Germany
Internist with KH Feb-Mar 06

Mr. Simon Gut
Student, University of Heidelberg, Germany
Internist with KH Feb-Mar 06

Ms. Susanne Weissert
Student, University of Heidelberg, Germany
Internist with KH Feb-Mar 06

Mr. Tagbo Nelson Ezigbo
Student, Nigeria
Internist with KH Mar-May 06

Mr. Tim Petersen
Student, University of Heidelberg, Germany
Internist with KH Jul-Aug 05

Ms. Zamira Kohkan
Student, Hanover, Germany
Internist with KH Mar-Apr 06