Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe
Slider
SocietyStudentsCIRSE student storiesStudent internships: Martin Glumbík

Student internships: Martin Glumbík

Martin Glumbík is a 6th year medical student at the Faculty of Medicine of Palacký University in Olomouc, Czechia. He completed his CIRSE student internship at the Stadtspital Zurich Triemli in Zurich, Switzerland.

By Martin Glumbík

In the summer of 2024, I had the opportunity to participate in a practical internship thanks to the CIRSE Student Programme. I spent two weeks at the Stadtspital Zurich Triemli in Switzerland in the Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, and I would like to share my experience.

As a sixth-year student at the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry of Palacký University in Olomouc, Czech Republic, I was already very interested in interventional methods during my studies. In particular, I admire the wide range of different procedures that can be performed using today’s modern technology, while maintaining a relatively gentle and minimally invasive approach to the patient.

I have always been tempted to study abroad, especially in the Nordic countries or Switzerland. After searching for different ways to arrange an internship, I finally came across CIRSE’s programme which matches students to IR internships in many hospitals all over Europe. I did not hesitate to take advantage of that possibility and chose Stadtspital Zurich Triemli in Switzerland.

Me with Dr. Kara
Stadtspital Zurich Triemli 

During my internship, I had the opportunity not only to deepen my knowledge in interventional and diagnostic radiology but also to learn more about how the radiology department works. Upon my arrival, I was warmly welcomed and integrated into the medical team of the Zurich hospital. The staff treated me very nicely throughout my internship and were always helpful. Every doctor I met was always interested in me and tried to pass on their knowledge in the best possible way.

I spent most of my time in the hospital in the modern angiosuite where a number of vascular interventions were performed every day, and I had the chance to see interesting patient cases and related procedures. In addition to common procedures such as percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of lower limb vessels, I observed thermal ablation of liver cancer, thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR), portal vein embolization prior to surgical liver resection, selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), lymphatic fistula sclerotization and many others. I also saw several non-vascular interventions, notably image-guided percutaneous tumour biopsy and percutaneous transhepatic cholangial drainage (PTCD).

During the interventional procedures, I was attended by Dr. med. Levent Kara, EBIR, FCIRSE and Dr. med. Christian Berthold, EBIR. I would like to especially appreciate and highlight Dr. Kara’s approach. He was a great mentor, always trying to describe and explain each procedure step by step and pass on his valuable experience to me. Under his expert guidance, I got the opportunity to independently perform a PICC insertion and thus take away some practical experience from the internship.

The angiosuite at Stadspital Zurich Triemli.
Dr. Kara and me performing PICC insertion.

Overall, this internship was a great experience and challenge for me. Not only did it enrich my knowledge of interventional radiology, but I also had the possibility to improve my language skills and get to know the local culture and a variety of inspiring people.

I am very grateful to CIRSE and Stadtspital Zurich Triemli for making this internship possible and I would definitely recommend that any student who is interested in interventional radiology should take advantage of this opportunity. It was a valuable and unforgettable experience for me that I will be able to draw on in my future medical career.

Learn more about CIRSE student internships

Visit the CIRSE student's start page