Roksana Silicki, Observership report -Hospital de São José in Lisbon

I completed my fellowship in Lisbon between 01 and 30 September 2025 at Saint Joseph’s Local Health Unit (Hospital de São José) in Lisbon.

During this month, I had the opportunity to work across three key subspecialty services of the Department of Ophthalmology: the Cornea and Transplant Unit, the Medical Retina Unit, and the Oculoplastic Surgery Unit. My stay at ULS São José was an inspiring and meaningful professional experience.

I am deeply grateful to the specialists and teams in all these areas for their openness, generosity, and willingness to share their knowledge. Their professionalism, thoughtful guidance, and warm attitude made the fellowship exceptionally valuable. I truly appreciated the chance to observe different clinical approaches, discuss complex cases, and learn from highly experienced surgeons whose expertise and enthusiasm were both motivating and reassuring.

Lisbon also taught me that discussing complex corneal topographies becomes much easier after a proper pastel de nata, and that ophthalmology is clearly even more enjoyable when surrounded by people who genuinely love what they do.

I would also like to express my sincere thanks to the European Society of Ophthalmology (SOE) for making this observership possible.

This month in Lisbon offered insights that will stay with me for a long time. I sincerely thank all the physicians and staff who contributed to this experience with their support, kindness, and dedication to patient care.