One hundred foreign doctors are completing fellowships at the Hadassah Medical Center–an experience that dramatically influences how they practice medicine when they return to their home countries.
Currently, the highest number of foreign residents at Hadassah are from Costa Rica and Mexico; the others hail from Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Germany, India, Peru, Romania, Turkey, and Venezuela. Ophthalmology and Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine have the most foreign residents, but there are also foreign residents in the departments of Cardiology, Gynecology, Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Plastic Surgery, and Radiology.
Dr. Sasha Lonchar, a cardiologist from Bosnia, explains that his country is in the process of rebuilding its medical infrastructure. He looks forward to being a part of that process and practicing the medicine he is now learning at Hadassah. Dr. Lonchar is especially impressed with the easy interaction and open communication among Hadassah’s doctors, whatever their titles or the hierarchy. “Each of us brings a different approach based on his or her individual culture and experience,” he notes. “Together, we are creating a hybrid approach that results in the best patient care.”
Dr. Samuel Moscovici is a fourth-year resident in the Department of Neurosurgery, who received his medical education in Caracus, Venezuela. “The international flavor of the people we work with and treat makes Hadassah special,” he comments. “Sharing personal and professional experiences gives us all a very humanitarian approach and teaches us how to be better doctors.
Prof. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, Hadassah Medical Center Director General, explains: “Our doctors–superb clinicians and inspired teachers–open their hearts as well as their minds to our overseas students. They teach them, train them, listen to them, and counsel them. When these foreign doctors return home, they take with them advanced medical training and the special spirit they found at Hadassah, promoting health and healing wherever they may be.”
