ERASMUS CHANGING LIVES OPENING MINDS fOR 25 YEARS

Diana
Dmuchowska
‘It gave me a direction’
Home institution:
Medical University of Bialystok,
Poland
Host institution:
University of Duisburg-Essen,
Germany
Field of study:
Medicine
Duration:
1 year (2005)
Diana Dmuchowska was in her fifth year studying medicine when set off for
Essen looking for ‘new ideas’ and ‘something out of the ordinary’. She chose
Germany as she knew the language and wanted to be able to speak to patients
without the need for a translator.
‘My stay fulfilled my expectations a thousand times more than I had expected.
I made new acquaintances and made the most of the experience, but above all
I met this doctor, a professor of ophthalmology. Her enthusiasm for research
and surgery was overwhelming.’
As a result of the meeting, her routine changed dramatically. She spent evenings
and weekends working in the lab and reading scientific literature.
‘Sometimes I was so deeply involved in my work that I hardly noticed the dawn.’
When the year was up, she returned to Poland to complete her medical studies,
while continuing with a German PhD supervised by the ophthalmology professor,
which she defended in English and subsequently got recognised in Poland.
‘Erasmus had a great impact on my life. It gave me a new direction,’ she reflects.
For the past three years she has been training to become an eye specialist back
in Poland. Last year she returned to Essen to complete a three-month training
course. Most recently she has been visiting the internationally renowned
Moorfields Eye Hospital in London thanks to a scholarship from the European
Society of Ophthalmology. ‘I believe that visiting foreign centres is an essential
part of my professional development. Just as I took my passion for research
home to Bialystok, I hope to do the same with new ideas and experiences.’
48