KHARON

Thanatology Review

Electronic Journal

Content

Volume 19

Number 1-2 · 2015

Short article


 JUDIT NYÍRŐ
JUDIT NYÍRŐ

orvostanhallgató

nyiro.judit@gmail.com

Do you have any idea what it feels like to find out that you have cancer?

- Oncology from the perspective of a medical student

Abstract · As a first-year medical student at Semmelweis University, I had the chance to get first-hand hospital work experience only after two months into my studies. There was a compulsory traineeship included in Medical Communication course where you could choose which department you wanted to join. The task was to observe and to analyse different communication situations. I spent a morning at the Department of Oncology of a well-known hospital in Pest County, Hungary. It was both a highly significant and a harrowing experience for me. This report is about my experiences I gained during that time and about the differences between the reality and what I had expected before the traineeship. I would like to show you the perspective of a 19-year-old first-year medical student on communication with seriously ill or dying patients, on their difficulties and their possible treatments.