Welcome, dear Luca

Luca will be joining our team in Cambodia from December 2024. The medical student will work for two months at our children's hospital in Siem Reap. Here he introduces himself.

Luca Esposito, 23, Küsnacht ZH

I made the decision to study medicine early on in secondary school, as I have always been fascinated by the world of medicine. I am impressed by how quickly the field is developing and how diverse the various medical fields are. My family environment certainly also contributed to this choice, as both my mother and my uncle work as doctors and therefore gave me an early insight into the profession.

I think it is extremely important for a doctor to gain professional experience in developing countries. In Switzerland, we are very privileged and often don't even realize how good our healthcare system is in international comparison. I am particularly interested in how doctors can still provide good quality care with limited resources. There are also diseases in Cambodia that have been eradicated here for years and are only mentioned in lectures. It would be exciting to be able to see and treat such diseases directly on site.

During my two months at the children's hospital, pediatric surgery and pediatrics in Siem Reap, I hope to gain valuable practical experience and learn more about the medical care of children. I would like to expand my knowledge and skills in dealing with young patients and better understand how diagnoses and treatments are carried out in pediatrics. However, I expect that communication may be difficult due to the language barrier. Nevertheless, I want to work closely with the team and learn how to involve the children's parents and families well.

I am most looking forward to the month in pediatric surgery, where I will have the chance to gain a lot of practical experience and improve my skills in treating young patients. I am particularly excited about the opportunity to perform various procedures under supervision and thus deepen my knowledge. At the same time, I am concerned that the language barrier could make communication difficult and I worry about the risk of contracting a disease. Nevertheless, I am motivated to tackle these challenges and make the most of the experience.

Best regards

Luca