EFLM LabX report

By Rabia Tan, Turkey

EFLMLabX is one of the most practical ways to take your career one step ahead. I would like to express my endless gratitude to the EFLM association for giving me that opportunity. Before going into the details of the wonderful experience, let me briefly introduce myself. After completing medical school in 2014, I worked in the emergency room for a year and a half. During that time, I realized that I was interested in the wide world of biochemistry and I turned to this field. I entered Medical Biochemistry Specialization Program which requires top scores with the National Medical Specialization Exam in Türkiye and completed my 4-year specialization education in 2020. For 3 years, I have been working as a Specialist Doctor in a governmental laboratory that has been dealing with more than 6500 samples of 2000 patients on average daily. I am married and have a wonderful 6-year-old son. 

My EFLMLabX journey started when I received the e-mail stating that the bursary applications of the association have initiated in this field. It was a very attractive offer to get to know my colleagues who have gone through similar paths as me and to be able to see new devices, models and techniques. Moreover, getting a bursary for my expenses would really ease my burden. I decided to apply to the Flow Cytometry Diagnostics Unit, Institute for Clinical Chemistry, University Medicine Mannheim, Germany which inspires me with its ability to perform immunophenotyping and wide area to diagnose illnesses. 

After receiving acceptance from the University of Mannheim and qualifying for the bursary, the EFLM office was always ready to help for each step. I contacted them when I hung out and they got back to me sincerely and quickly. After deciding the dates with my speaking partners in Mannheim, PD Dr. med. Verena Haselmann and Dr. rer. nat. Maren Hedtke, I completed my passport, visa, and vaccination procedures.

For a month in May 2023, I was in a sophisticated and accredited laboratory with the best in their field, in an environment where I could ask all my questions without hesitation. Director of the Institute Prof. Dr. med. Michael Neumaier was always polite and hospitable, both personally and professionally. M.Sc. Mathis Römer briefed me on the analytical measurement of the devices. Dr. Hedtke and Dr. med. Marco Paparella, openly presented their experience on how the results should be interpreted. For many manual operations, I was allowed to do many things on my own under observation. They did everything for me to understand each step-in detail, from the arrival of the samples to the output of the final report. I had the opportunity to participate to bone marrow conferences with the colleagues from Hematology Department daily. It was definitely an informative experience for me. I would like to thank my colleagues and laboratory staff who did whatever they can to make me feel at home. Also, Mannheim is a big city with its Baroque Palace, magnificent Water Tower, plenty of majestic churches, Maimarkt, Cityfests and this year hosting BUGA (Bundesgartenschau- The German National Garden Show). I really enjoyed every second of my time there.

Nowadays, knowledge is readily available everywhere, but experience is only in competent hands. Therefore, I hope that practice, which allows sharing of experience, will continue for many years and many of my colleagues will benefit from this valuable opportunity.

EFLMLabX is one of the most practical ways to take your career one step ahead. I would like to express my endless gratitude to the EFLM association for giving me that opportunity. Before going into the details of the wonderful experience, let me briefly introduce myself. After completing medical school in 2014, I worked in the emergency room for a year and a half. During that time, I realized that I was interested in the wide world of biochemistry and I turned to this field. I entered Medical Biochemistry Specialization Program which requires top scores with the National Medical Specialization Exam in Türkiye and completed my 4-year specialization education in 2020. For 3 years, I have been working as a Specialist Doctor in a governmental laboratory that has been dealing with more than 6500 samples of 2000 patients on average daily...