We create new perspectives

A program of the Cellex Foundation and the Medical Clinic and Outpatient Clinic I of the Dresden University Hospital.

The Cellex Foundation and the Dresden University Hospital created the job-shadowing program in 2016 – in other words, at a time when thousands of refugees were arriving in Germany. Its initial aim was to give doctors, medical students, and nurses who had fled their home countries the chance to employ their knowledge in a meaningful way and get to know the German healthcare system while waiting for the outcome of their asylum applications at their initial accommodation facilities. During this first phase of the job-shadowing program, it became clear that intercultural interactions in the clinic helped break down barriers between people, created contact areas, and opened up new perspectives (both socially and in terms of specialist knowledge) for everyone involved. For this reason, the Cellex Foundation expanded the target group in the second phase, and began accepting foreigners with medical training who were not refugees but wanted to gain a better understanding of day-to-day work in a German clinic.

The program lasted ten weeks. During this time, the job shadowers were introduced to the various specialist departments of Medical Clinic I:

 

Pulmonology,

hematology,

oncology,

gastroenterology,

transfusion medicine,

palliative care, and

intensive care.

 

The job shadowers accompanied doctors on morning visits, frequently participated in medical discussions and X-ray conferences, and observed medical interventions such as biopsies and endoscopies. Participants also shadowed assistant physicians on their daily rounds, which gave them the chance to get a very clear impression of daily life working in a clinic and the activities involved. The program also offered the job shadowers the opportunity to attend specialist training and development events alongside medical interns.

Prof. Dr. med. Rainer Ordemann, chairman of the Cellex Foundation's board, led and coordinated the program in cooperation with the physicians in Medical Clinic and Outpatient Clinic I. 

 

Thirteen job shadowers from Syria and Algeria participated. One of the participants was Nour Al Masalmeh, who comes from Syria. She heard about the program at a meet new friends welcoming gathering, applied, and was accepted. For Nour, "We Create New Perspectives" was a springboard to a new job – today, she works at the Dresden University Hospital as an assistant physician.