Student Corner

Internship in IP Castelo Branco

First of all, I would like to thank Macao Polytechnic Institute, Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco, Amato Lusitano Hospital and the Health Centre of São Tiago. 

I would like to present my experiences in Castelo Branco in this essay.

This was our residence. It was a twin bedroom with a bathroom and a toilet shared by four people.

We met the School of Health's Dr.Lopes Dias and Dr. João gave us an overview of the School. Dr. José then explained the schedule and location of our placements. We also met the nursing students in the canteen and shared our experiences of our nursing programmes with each other. They were all very friendly and hospitable, especially Dr. José who was like our Portuguese father. He likes Chinese culture and we had many interesting intercultural discussions. He also took us to have a famous Spanish and Italian dinner. Thank you so much for taking such good care of us during these two months.

For the first three weeks we had nursing placements in UCIP at the Amato Lusitano Hospital. The head and nurses were very kind and patient with us. We learnt a lot from them and also visited famous hospitals in Lisbon and Coimbra. This was the first time I observed a percutaneous coronary angioplasty. There are some differences between our nursing techniques and materials. For example, they have a machine for administrating medication which requests a finger print to confirm the identity of nurses, doctors and patients and a PICCO machine to determine the thermo dilution of cardiac output. Most of time they did not wear gloves when approaching patients, and I think this is good for enhancing the nurse-patient relationship, making them feel more comfortable, and increasing the trust of the patient. The hospital is very eco-friendly, efficiently handling the medical waste of the hospital. I hope the hospitals in Macao can become more eco-friendly and import more advanced techniques. I would like to thank all the staff of UCIP from Amato Lusitano Hospital, especially our second Portuguese father, Roberto. We are so proud of him that he can finish his meal with chopsticks now! Thank you so much for taking care of us in these three weeks, Roberto.

For the last three weeks we had nursing placements in the Health Centre of São Tiago. Each of us followed a nurse and a Portuguese nursing student. Although I speak Portuguese badly they patiently tried to explain. The model of the health centre is the family doctor. In the morning they are consulted by patients who already have an appointment with their family doctor. During the afternoon there are open consultations for those who do not have a family doctor or a specific doctor. Fortunately I was also able to follow the nurse in charge of vaccinations. She has to go to the hospital each day to give the newborn babies their vaccinations, whereas in Macao vaccines are given to the newborn immediately. I would like to thank my nurses Lucia and Helena, and my Portuguese student partner Ariana. It was my pleasure to meet you in my last nursing placement.