Farewell Leuven!

Today was bittersweet.

It started with me visiting the Head of the Department in the morning to have my evaluation and completion papers signed and stamped.

He welcomed me into his office and began by expressing his appreciation for my contributions on the ward. He told me how pleased the whole Hepatology team was with my work and that they all sang my praises. I expressed my gratitude for his kinds words. He shared that a Professor, I often did ward rounds with, was so pleased that he is eager to write me a reference letter, should I need one. We discussed what the coming months will look like for me with the remainder of my rotations and what my plans were after graduation. 

Before leaving his office, he reviewed the papers once more, looked up at me and asked, "do you need a grade? Because you get maximum points." I didn't, but this was so good to hear. He assured me that I will make a great doctor. At that moment I felt so accomplished there were tears in my eyes. I thanked the Professor once again and headed back to the ward for the rest of the day.

Back on the ward, my doctor and I finished reviewing our patients' files and went to see them. Six out of twelve could go home. This was good news for them, but bad news for my doctor because it meant a lot of paperwork. We went for lunch and afterwards I went downstairs to observe some endoscopic ultrasounds, while my doctor worked on the discharge paperwork for our patients. 

Two hours and a few procedures later, I was back upstairs. There wasn't much left to do for the day, so my doctor told me to have an early last day. We said our goodbyes and I left UZ Leuven for one last time.

I have truly enjoyed every moment of my time here at UZ Leuven. I don't think there's one bad thing I could say about it. I am thankful to all of the doctors that have graciously mentored me over the last 4 months. I have had the pleasure to work alongside some of the most selfless and inspiring people. I feel so grateful, I can't wipe the smile off my face.

The interesting thing about University hospitals is that they are highly specialised which means you have the opportunity to see unique patients and diseases. In the last four weeks, I saw your common Hepatology cases of alcoholic liver cirrhosis, acute pancreatitis, cholecystitis, and cholangitis, but I also saw rare conditions like Rendu-Osler-Weber syndrome, Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome and liver and kidney failure due to sarcoidosis. My biggest achievement this rotation was learning to do a paracentesis and performing 5 of them. 

Some of the things I will miss from UZ Leuven are:

• Pressing the button for the floor on the outside of the elevator
• Using my student ID to buy lunch at the cafeteria or snacks at the vending machine
• Free coffee, tea, or soup at the Operating room
• All the friendly professors, doctors, hospital staff and interns I met along the way

Sadly, my time in Belgium has come to an end and in just 2 days I will say, "so long Leuven."

Some of the things I will miss from Belgium are:

• Frites
• Waffles
• Chocolate

Be right back going to pack and catch my flight! The next time I write to all of you I will be in another country.