Karolina is a student in the English Medicine & Surgery programme of La Sapienza Rome, but has been studying in Bonn, Germany for the past year as part of the Erasmus+ programme offered to many students in European universities.
Karolina has an incredible instagram where she shares posts about studying medicine in Italy, as well as just starting a youtube channel where she will help students even further.
Erasmus+ gives students a chance to explore new countries and universities, and study abroad for a semester with most of their expenses covered, and Karolina has been availing of this opportunity for the past 10 months.
This is the written up portion of the really fun interview we did with her about her Erasmus experience so far in Germany and how that is different from the Medicine & Surgery in English programme at La Sapienza, Rome.
I have changed the order of the interview a little bit for a more structured article, and have also added some additional information. If you would like to see the unedited version I really recommend watching the video here.
What is Erasmus?
Erasmus is a programme that is funded via a scholarship which allows students to go abroad for a period of time to certain countries. The stay is funded via a monthly amount of money to the student, and might even offer a reimbursement on the travelling costs. You also get a recognition of credits for the time you spend there in the classes you take, so that the exams and practicals you complete are recognised in your home university. It’s an amazing opportunity to go abroad and get to know new people, experience a new country, as well as earn credits.
Has it been an enjoyable experience for you?
Yes it has been, it’s been really interesting to see how differently things work. You really think you know a country until you have to live there, and you find out new things everyday. It’s also been a great opportunity to practice German which I knew a little of before. I’ve been improving my language skills so much since I moved, and that’s been so so amazing.
Difficulties with Language
It’s not always necessary to know the local language before doing Erasmus. Some countries do not have a language requirement when applying, however Karolina took on the incredible workload of actually studying in what is essentially her 4th language (Polish 1st, English 2nd, Italian 3rd).
All of her studies are completely in German including exams she has to do. “It was incredibly hard, especially the first few months, to adapt to a new language that you aren’t entirely comfortable with.” You may study a language in high school but as time passes so does your comfort with the language, and a lot of vocabulary is completely forgotten.
How hard is Erasmus?
The language barrier made bureaucratic things a lot more difficult, but there were also other contributing factors. Trying to figure out your schedule and timetable, having to call and email so many different offices and people can become exhausting.
It was also a hard switch from studying in english to studying in German. Anatomy terms were completely different. You have to spend so much time of course learning and studying the concepts, but even more time in understanding, translating, and learning the language used in the slides. The amount of time spent to translate and learn everything excluding the time to learn the concepts was quite consuming. However by the end of the semester she passed all of her exams so that’s all that matters!
Of course also going abroad in the middle of the pandemic was also quite hard as it made it so difficult to meet new people at first.
So is Erasmus worth it?
Despite all of the challenges especially during the first semester (language and new concepts aside), the organisation of the classes did make it a little easier since the schedule wasn’t as hectic. There was plenty of time in the daily schedule allowing self study, and this did make it a little more bearable.
In Italy the professors spend a lot of time explaining all of the concepts no matter how basic they are and you are taught everything. In Germany though they guide you through diseases, but it’s your responsibility to go and learn all of the details and concepts.
So of course the system of studying is also really different, but the opportunity to go for Erasmus is incredible. Especially because you can learn how a different healthcare system works, and how differently it’s organised. How different specialties might work in different countries. For example in certain countries Emergency Medicine is not it’s own specialty, but instead different departments take shifts in the emergency departments. Overall despite all of the difficulties it’s completely worth it.
What are the benefits of doing Erasmus?
Of course being paid to travel is amazing, and you get to meet so many new people, learn a new culture and language, as well have the experience locals do which is quite a rare opportunity.
You additionally get to experience a new healthcare system, understand how different specialties work in different countries, and learn different approaches to patient care.
Meeting new people socially is great but one of the most valuable benefits is actually networking with healthcare workers across the world. So there are many career benefits as well as academic benefits.
What are the career benefits of doing Erasmus?
The amount that it will benefit your future career as a doctor actually depends on the country that you would like to eventually complete your specialty training in. If you do Erasmus in a country that you want to do your residency in, it is a massive advantage.
It demonstrates that you are already familiar with their healthcare system despite having completed your studies in a different country. Additionally you get to make contacts and network with doctors that might help with recommendations at a future date. We have many colleagues that have ended up doing their residency (specialty) training in the same hospital that they completed Erasmus+ in just because they had relevant experience, but also had important contacts which helped with the process.
In medicine networking is incredibly important, and knowing the right people can get you so many incredible opportunities and experiences that might have been closed off otherwise regardless of your academic achievements. So going to another country, especially one that you’re considering doing a residency in gives you a massive career advantage, even if it doesn’t directly effect an exam you have to complete to get there.
What are the academic benefits of doing Erasmus?
Additionally there is a massive academic benefit of completing Erasmus if you are a medical student in the Italian system.
When you are graduating your diploma has a certain score on it that is tied into your grade average obtained throughout medical school. Based on your grade average and quality of your thesis you are given a final score.
Doing Erasmus actually gives you bonus points for this final score. You can get an additional 1-2 points depending on the length of time you spend abroad so this is actually a massive advantage as it could be the difference between graduating with a cum laude (highest praises) and just a pass.
What countries offer Erasmus+?
There are two main things to consider when it comes to what universities and countries are available to you.
Certain universities do not expect you to know the local language when applying, as they might offer a medical programme in English. Whereas other countries such as Spain and France, only have medical programmes in their local languages, so will require a test that proves the proficiency of the student in that language.
Regardless of the language requirement by a host university, it is the home university that “decides” which universities their students can apply to. There must be some sort of existing partnership or understanding between the two universities for the exchange to take place.
So what countries, and what universities that are available to you to apply to completely depends on your home universities connections, as well as what languages you are proficient in.
However there are almost always multiple universities from each country, and an availability of so many countries mainly within Europe, but also outside of Europe with different types of Erasmus. Again if you would like to know more about the technical details of applying to Erasmus and it’s types I would recommend thoroughly reading this article. If you are in the english programme of medicine in Italy, you are automatically given a C1 proficiency in English for your applications without having to do an additional language test.
How "common" is the programme?
Erasmus is quite competitive, especially for spots in English programmes since most students will speak some level of English. However other competitive countries are Spain and France, as most Italian students do speak Spanish due to how similar the languages are. Erasmus is a great opportunity so of course many students apply making it quite competitive.
Based on how good the host university is and, what languages are required it can be even more difficult to get a spot. The entire thing is based on a ranking system similar to the EU IMAT ranking when students are applying. So there’s no guarantee of getting a spot, it really depends on your grades, how many exams you’ve completed, as well as what languages you know and can prove you know. Don’t be discouraged though, it’s always worth a try!
How long is Erasmus?
The length of time really depends on the type of Erasmus you apply for; for example the traineeship one has a MINIMUM of 2 months, and a MAXIMUM of 3 months. Whereas Erasmus+ can be anywhere from 1 semester to 4 semesters in different universities and countries. Some universities abroad might have limitations on the amount of time that they allow a foreign student to attend. It’s highly dependent, but the average is 2-3 months for a traineeship programme, and a semester for a university study based programme.
Any useful pieces of advice?
Final words: It can get incredibly overwhelming especially with the bureaucracy, but it is really worth it in the end. You might even be discouraged from trying given how competitive it is, but you should definitely try anyway because you never know if you’re going to get a spot or not. There might even be problems with learning agreements that will last minute be a reason to cancel your spot, but you can always re-apply to a different university spot. Check what universities would be a good fit for you, and just try to apply. You never know, you might get a spot, and it’ll be so worth it in the end!
This is the video interview that this article was based on. For more technical details please read this article.
If you have any questions or requests on future video or articles please don’t hesitate to reach out 🙂