Meet Aktilek Yekibayeva, a dedicated medical student from Kazakhstan, who had the opportunity to study in Slovakia through the National Scholarship Programme (NSP). She spent five months at Comenius University, Faculty of Medicine, where she gained invaluable academic and practical experience. From participating in innovative surgical procedures to enhancing her diagnostic and patient communication skills, her journey in Slovakia has been both enriching and inspiring. Read about her experience, the challenges she overcame, and the friendships she made along the way.

My name is Aktilek Yekibayeva, and I am from Kazakhstan. I studied at Comenius University, Faculty of Medicine, for 5 months in the field of NSP in the Slovak Republic. I am currently in my 6th year.

Personally, I believe I managed to achieve all the goals that I proposed, from an academic perspective, meanwhile I take great pride in knowing I made a plan and participated in a new surgical operation approach to treat atrial fibrillation. This method was first used in the beginning of 2024, whilst during practice we participated inprocedures such as Abdominal USG, Holter ECG, Cardiac stress test, colonoscopy and Densitometry.

In some procedures the doctors gave us the opportunity to conduct these routine tests on patients and explained when and why they were done.

Every day we took ECG of patients and discussed with doctors and taught to make a diagnosis looking at ECG images and give medications. I was taught in great detail how to give injections, take blood from a vein for analyses and do transfusions.

One of my main goals during practice sessions was to support the night shifts at the National Centers of Slovakia.  In internal medicine and pediatrics, we had a night shifts in ambulance. During the night shift we reviewed many clinical cases and collected anamnesis from patients, asked questions about their complaints.

Similar activity was also conducted in medicine, with correct anamnesis collection often apart of helping to make the correct diagnosis. I noticed that my communication skills with patients and also doctors greatly improved.

I had really good time during my stay. I did not experience any difficulties during my stay in Slovakia. I did not have any problems with my accommodation or public transport because everything was well organized.

The amount of the scholarship was enough to cover my living costs, including accommodation, public transportation food and school supplements, research materials.

During this period, I made many great international friends and met colleagues who motivated me to become the best professional. The Slovak people are friendly and always willing to help, making it simple to settle in and feel at home.

Slovakia’s central location in Europe facilitates easy travel to other European countries! I have been able to explore nearby destinations with friends, which has been a wonderful experience!

I am very grateful for the National Scholarship Program of the Slovak Republic. The program is well organized, it gave me the opportunity to study at the best universities in Slovakia and practice in clinics with competent doctors.