My Experience During the Internship

My time at the Lilienfeld Regional Hospital was really wonderful. I was well integrated into the team right from the start. Since the team is relatively small, you quickly get to know everyone and have a lot explained to you. This makes it easy to actively participate and learn quickly. During the internship in internal medicine, after completing the daily tasks, you were free to explore different areas, for example endoscopy, the diabetes outpatient clinic, the palliative care unit, echocardiography, or the emergency department. There, once you had already observed something, you could also perform examinations yourself or, for example, carry out pleural punctures independently. Thanks to the short distances, it was also easy to observe in other departments and take part in training sessions, such as neonatal resuscitation. Overall, you can learn a great deal in this rather small hospital and, above all, work independently. That is exactly what I particularly enjoyed.

My Experience with Daily Life and Leisure Time on Site

In Lilienfeld and the surrounding area, the Pre-Alps offer many leisure opportunities. You can go hiking, road cycling, mountain biking, or swimming. Trips to the area around Mariazell or to Styria with its mountains and lakes are especially beautiful.On weekends, but also during the week, you can reach Vienna’s main train station by train in about an hour. Once there, it’s great to get around the city by rental bike and enjoy plenty of activities. By train, you can also quickly reach Bratislava, Graz, or Salzburg, which was always worthwhile for a day trip as well. In Lilienfeld itself, there is a lovely spot called the Salettl, where you can have a drink right by the water with colleagues or friends. Overall, the surroundings were very quiet and pleasant, which made the stay even more enjoyable.

My Conclusion & Tips

Looking back, the Erasmus+ internship at the Lilienfeld Regional Hospital was a very positive experience for me. I learned a great deal professionally, was able to do a lot hands-on, and was simultaneously supported by a friendly team. What I found particularly good was that in a smaller hospital you can quickly take on responsibility and get to know many different areas of internal medicine. For me, the internship was therefore not only educational, but also a very wonderful time personally.My most important tip is to approach the team openly and with motivation, because then you can really take away a lot. It is also worth showing initiative and asking questions if there is something you would like to see or do yourself. In addition, you should definitely make use of your free time on site, because the surroundings are truly beautiful and there are many opportunities for excursions. Anyone who enjoys working in a familiar, close-knit environment while also wanting to learn a lot will feel right at home in Lilienfeld.