What do I do now?

The 2nd year of Biomedical Sciences is rather focused than the general 1st year. Therefore, I had to choose both my specialisation and all subjects and hope that they would all match my interests. After a while of hesitating which biomedical stream to take, I decided to get internships from the different areas and see which content will be the most suitable for me. I did not want to make a mistake of choosing a wrong stream.

In July, I spent 2 weeks at the Motol University Hospital in the Blood Bank department managed by Mgr Matejcek. During those 2 weeks, I had a unique chance to visit every diagnostics lab in the hospital and find out more about the real daily work of laboratory stuff in different sectors. I also got to try basic diagnostics methods. Visited workplaces included Immunology, Cytogenetics, Biochemistry, Epidemiology, Microbiology. Working with lab assistants gave me an insight in clinical science and helped me understand the big picture of hospital work from the lowest position in the hospital hierarchy, and see how laboratory results are processed.

In August, I had another internship in a biotechnology company Sotio, whose research focuses on cancer immunotherapy and its possible use in medical practice. I worked at the science department and my supervisor was Mgr Kamila Hladikova, a PhD student with a special interest in cancer diseases of neck and head. During my time in Sotio, I had the opportunity to improve my skills in some of the laboratory methods used in immunology (e.g. IHC, qPCR, Ficoll, cell cultivation) and further deepen my knowledge of clinical immunology. I am very grateful for this opportunity because I had a direct contact with the industry and could see in what ways I can use my theoretical knowledge.

Initially I aimed to enroll on the Developmental biology stream. However, these two experiences changed my mind and convinced me to choose Cellular and Molecular Biology with a special interest in immunology and genetics. Having spent a month at school, I know I made the right choice- thanks to the internships.

In the Czech Republic the concept of internships is not that common yet, but their number increases every year. I would like to encourage all hesitant students, who do not know which way to go, to get an internship. It can seem that people do internships only to improve their CV, but believe me that is not the only reason. You will be the one enriched by this experience. You can try working in whichever environment you are interested in, without the fear of loosing your job. Your time in the company is limited so you can either enjoy it, or discover that this environment is not for you. The most important thing is to find your own way and this is where internships can really help you.

Therefore, do not worry that internships could be a waste of time, because mine ended up to be the most exciting experience of my summer.