Irina Virlan, Republic of Moldova, Grant Report at University Hospital of Cologne, Germany

My name is Irina Virlan. I am a resident doctor from Republic of Moldova. I had a fantastic opportunity to spend 4 weeks observership at Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Cologne, Germany. My mentor was Prof. Sandra Liakopolous. My special interest is Medical Retina. I had the chance to observe how the patients are examined in the polyclinic, how are they treated in the hospital departments. I liked the way the work is organised. I noticed how much residents are involved in the work of the clinic.

As I mentioned above, my special interest is Medical Retina, and I enjoyed very much the way patients with retina diseases are investigated: OCT, OCT Angiography, Fluorescein Angiography, Indocyanine Green Angiography, Fundus Autofluorescence, Electroretinography, Genetic tests etc. I was amazed by the complexity of the Photolaboratory. It has everything a doctor needs. I was so lucky to observe Dystrophy Clinic that Prof. Liakopolous runs every Friday – amazing pathologies found and explained by a professional who knows everything about retina.

Prof. Sandra Liakopolous is the head of the Cologne Image Reading Centre and Laboratory (CIRCL) and I was so enthusiastic to see how a medical reading centre works and I got many useful practical hints from graders. They also have a very good library I had access to. I found there a super friendly team with open persons and good professionals. We had both efficient learning atmosphere and relaxing free time.

Cologne is an amazing city and the Centre for International Scholars made my staying very interesting and safe. They gave me all the information and support I needed before my arrival and during my stay.

Big thanks to Prof. Liakopolous, CIRCL team, doctors from Augenklinik who were very open and answered all my questions.

Special great thanks for European Society of Ophthalmology! Thanks to SOE Grant doctors from development countries have the chance to see “beautiful” ophthalmology abroad, make connections with colleagues from abroad, apply gained knowledge.

You motivate us to make changes in our country and improve medical eye care for our patients.

 

With respect,

Irina Virlan