TREASURE
(Travel Abroad for Medical Education through Exchange)
SCOPE CIMSA UNEJ
Travel Abroad for Medical Education through Exchange (TREASURE) is an event held by SCOPE CIMSA UNEJ to educate medical students on the importance and benefits of professional exchange. For this year’s TREASURE, we used medical education in Indonesia and other countries as our theme. Since gathering a mass is not possible during this time we decided to use the media Zoom. Holding an online event is not a complete obstacle, in fact, by doing so we had the opportunity to educate medical students not only from Jember University but also from other universities!
We had three interviewees, first dr. Cholis Abrori, M.Kes, M.Ped.Ked, second Annisa Fajriani as the former outgoing from CIMSA UGM to Turkey, and last but not least dr. Alvin Saputra as the former outgoing CIMSA UNAIR to the Czech Republic. In general, the event was held in two sessions. In the first session, we had a talk show with dr. Cholis Abrori, M.Kes, M.Ped.Ked, in which he talked about the difference between the curriculum and work ethic between Indonesia and other countries. For example in Indonesia, which is a developing country, the prevalence of infectious diseases is much higher than in developed countries such as Finland. Another example is the curriculum for medical school in The Netherland is different than what we have here in Indonesia. In Indonesia, studies are divided into two phases, the preclinical and clinical years. In preclinical studies, students focus on the theory and never handle patients directly, while in The Netherland the curriculum is more clinically focused. This difference between the two countries can be a great reason for us to learn from physicians in other countries because we can gain knowledge that is not attainable here in Indonesia. Also since the professional exchange allows us to directly treat the patients along with the physician there it can be an incredible preparation for us before we enter the clinical phase.
For the second session, we had an interview and a sharing session with the former outgoings, Annisa Fajriani, and dr. Alvin Saputra. They shared what they had to do to apply for the exchange, such as the documents they had to prepare to fulfill the requirements. One of the most remarkable experiences they could attain during the exchange is being able to participate in surgeries. For Annisa Fajriani, it’s to be able to assist a gastrectomy on an obese patient, while for dr. Alvin Saputra, it was to be able to feel a beating breath on the palm of his hands. By participating in the exchange, we can gain so many benefits, not only an improvement in our knowledge but also in our clinical and social skills that will be beneficial for future doctors.