First Day in a Prague Hospital and the Jerusalem Synagogue

Sunday we finished up our time in Amsterdam and made our way over to Prague! At our orientation we finally learned how exactly we’re going to be spending our time doing the academic component of the trip  (yes, the day we arrived is when we finally got the details… I shouldn’t be surprised). Anyway, we were assigned into small groups that will be doing hospital rotations in the mornings, and a variety of lectures in the afternoons. This week I’ll be spending the mornings doing Neurology rotations, while next week I’ll be doing Pediatrics, followed by General Surgery.

This morning we woke up super early to meet with a guide to take us to Motol Hospital to show us how to get there on our own for the rest of the week using the train. We all purchased a monthly ticket since we’ll be here for a few weeks, which cost 670 Czech Koruna, or about $27 USD. The conversion rate is pretty wild… I keep thinking I’m spending a ton of money, when in reality this country has so far proven to be pretty cheap!

Traveling via train and finally arriving to the hospital was a bit overwhelming. We quickly realized that Prague is definitely not a place where you can assume people speak English, and none of the signs are in English either! Thank goodness we had guides otherwise we’d be completely out of luck. We arrived in the Department of Neurology where we had an introduction lecture (yes, in English!) by the chair of the department, which entailed discussing basics of the specialty and it’s importance for the country. The most interesting thing I took from this was that people in the Czech Republic who complain of back pain are always sent to Neurology first. The doctors told us repeatedly that it’s definitely inconvenient for them, and it’s often nothing neurological, but it’s just a typical custom of their healthcare system… totally weird!

I spent the next two hours shadowing neurology residents while they conducted their morning rounds and charting of their patients in the 2^nd Ward. It was pretty laid back, but the doctors seemed to have a really good grasp on their patients’ needs and expectations for their treatments. For the first day, I felt I got to see a number of interesting scenarios.

Lucky for me I had the afternoon off, so Shannon and I decided to do a little exploring of our area. In doing so we stumbled on the Jerusalem Synagogue, which is supposedly one of the major Jewish centers in Prague. Being in the Art Nouveau style of architecture, I was pretty stunned by the place because I’d never seen such an extravagant temple before. In my past experiences in Europe, I spent majority of my time seeing churches, so it was particularly interesting for me to see a piece of architecture of my own faith that was pretty different for me. I’ve heard there are a number of Jewish sites worth seeing in Prague so I hope to see more soon!

Facade of the Jerusalem Temple

Inside the Jerusalem Temple

And finally, for dinner I had my first Czech meal! Goulash and dumplings! It was actually really delicious, considering I wasn’t sure how I felt about it when it arrived on the table.

Me, Shannon, and Helen enjoying a local beer

My first authentic Czech meal: Goulash and Dumplings

So far this is what I’ve learned from my very short time in Prague:

-most people don’t speak English! And those who don’t won’t bother trying to converse with you

-The only places that really have English written anywhere are restaurants or tourist sites

-Everything is much cheaper than it is at home. I’ve barely spent the money that I’ve converted, and I’m not complaining.

Can’t wait to see what I learn tomorrow!