|
The UASOM - University of Zurich Exchange Program
|
|
|
Day #1 The first "official" day of our respective rotations consisted mainly of administrative errands and registration. We met with Dr. Renate Gay at 8 AM on Gloriastrasse 23 for an informal welcome and introduction to the Universitatsspital Zurich. Afterwards, we went to the "Wohndienst" on Schmelzbergstrasse 26 to register and pay for our rooms at the dormitory. The dorm, located at 10 Vogelsangstrasse, is owned by the hospital and houses all manner of exchange students (not just medical). It is about a five minute walk to the hospital from the dorm. The monthly rental rate was 250 SFr, and we also had to pay a 250 SFr deposit to be refunded upon checkout. The rent & deposit CAN be paid by credit card to minimize the amount of cash you need to have on you!! Also, you can pay a small fee (approximately 30 SFr) to have the telephone in your room accept incoming calls from & make outgoing calls to destinations OUTSIDE the hospital system. The long distance (i.e. international) rate is even discounted by the hospital and makes those calls home or wherever MUCH cheaper than using the community SwissCom phone in the dorm (you WILL save $$$ by taking advantage of this!!). You also have the advantage of privacy in your own room and not feeling rushed when several people are waiting to use the phone!!Next, we had ID cards made at the "Ausweis." Our pictures were taken and we could put money on the card to use in the cafeteria or the various cafes and shops throughout the hospital. By using the ID card instead of cash, we were able to obtain the employee discount!!! The next stop was registering with the city of Zurich at the "Kreisburo 6." We had a time finding the "correct" Kreisburo, even with someone going along with us as a guide!! We had to show them our passport and present them with the official letter from Dr. Gay stating our capacity as unpaid U.S. medical students participating in an exchange program for four weeks. There were no fees to pay and no need to register for any type of visa. We then met back with Dr. Gay and we were taken on somewhat of a tour of the hospital as each of us was introduced to our respective preceptors. We were not required to work on this initial day due to all of the administrative formalities. As a result, the remainder of the day was spent getting further acquainted with the layout of the hospital and the city of Zurich, finding the workout facility at the "Hauptgebaude" on Ramistrasse across from the hospital, getting groceries at the "Coop Supercenter," and continuing to unpack, adjust to the 7-hour time difference, and recover from jetlag!!! |