Considering the high number of Portuguese who go abroad to attend medical school, the Newsletter team interviewed student Diana Andrade Silva, who was admitted to FMUL in the academic year 2011/2012 through The Special Admission Regime for Holders of a Bachelor Degree. Diana Silva is 32 years old and has a degree in Clinical Psychology from Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada (Higher Institute of Applied Psychology).

Upon completion of her degree and having worked as a clinical psychologist, she was admitted to the medical degree at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic, where she completed the 3rd year. 

When you applied to the degree that you currently hold, was medicine one of your options?

Yes, medicine was always my first choice for accessing higher education.

What was the main reason for applying to medical school at a foreign faculty?
During my first degree and my professional career, I never dropped the idea of entering medicine. After several failed attempts to be admitted, including improving my grades for access to higher education, I decided to explore other options. A relative told me about medical schools in the Czech Republic offering degrees in English, and then I started to prepare my application to those faculties.

What were the main difficulties you faced as a Portuguese student in a foreign country?

My adaptation was really positive and it surpassed my expectations. However, the Czech language barrier (although from year 1 there were lessons to learn the language) limited my full adaptation and was possibly the greatest obstacle. Adapting to a people and a type of teaching with specific characteristics, quite demanding and extremely rigorous with regard to timekeeping, were a few of the initial aspects that were difficult to adjust to.

In your opinion, how challenging are medical degrees in Portugal?

I believe that a medical degree, due to its particular characteristics, such as attention to detail, amount of information to be taken in, length and the constant evolution of knowledge, is always quite demanding, requiring a lot of academic and personal commitment. In Portugal, medical degrees are quite demanding, and right so, in order to better train professionals. However, one must never forget that regardless of degrees being challenging, it is up to students to try to develop and build a solid knowledge that will enable them to be better professionals in the future.

After studying medicine abroad for a while, what were the main reasons that made you apply to FMUL’s Special Admission Regime for Holders of a Bachelor Degree?

A major reason was undoubtedly my decision to practice medicine in Portugal. Accordingly, as I entering year 4 of medical school, where the clinical component increases, it is more advantageous to be working within the Portuguese health system and also to use my first language.

When you assess the curricula of both faculties, do you think your academic path will meet with more or fewer difficulties?

Medical syllabi, regardless of the institution that offers them, have many similarities and differences. It is up to students to prepare for the change, and, in my specific case, that means becoming familiar with medical terms in Portuguese. My theoretical training in the first three years of the degree, which I completed at Masaryk University, was quite solid. I believe that the challenge continues, and I will keep on working to progress in the degree and benefit from the advantages of having studied outside Portugal with colleagues from almost all over the world.

Since all medical schools in Portugal offer places in this Special Admissions Regime, why did you choose FMUL?

FMUL supports those who have already completed medical subjects at a faculty of medicine from the European Union, for which reason it was the institution that was more advantageous for me in terms of applying. The fact that I live close to the faculty and also that FMUL was one of my top choices when I first applied to higher education to study medicine in Portugal also weighted considerably in my decision.

Having chosen to complete your medical education in Portugal, would you consider working outside the country after completion of your degree?

I cannot say that I will never consider that possibility, but one of the reasons for returning to Portugal was my decision to practice medicine in Portugal.

Lara Ponte
laraponte@fm.ul.pt
Editorial Team