Dr. Matheus Dourado, 3rd year resident of Department of Surgery of School of Medical Sciences (SMS) of University of Campinas (Unicamp) did a one-month internship at Hamad General Hospital (HGH), in Doha, Qatar, on September 2022. He was received by Prof. Sandro Rizoli, Medical Director of Trauma at HGH, and Prof. Ruben Peralta, Senior Consultant and the Director of the Hamad Medical Cooperation (HMC) Trauma and Critical Care Fellowship Program. Dr. Matheus was accompanied by his bride, Dr. Giane Prata, a newly graduated doctor.

He reported: “On September 1st we started the internship. Prof. Rizoli showed us the entire structure, including the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the Step Down, the ward, and the Trauma Room, explained to us how the internship would work, and made himself available to us, helping with whatever was needed. We were introduced to the other doctors and staff of the team, all of whom were always very helpful in helping us. Our routine started at 7:00 AM, when we followed the Morning Round and then we went to the ICU to follow the cases (a very fruitful part of the internship, especially when we were able to have Dr. Gustav and Dr. Ahmed - from the pharmacy - teaching us about critical patient care).

After the case discussions in the ICU, we went to the trauma room, where we waited for new cases to arrive until 3:00 pm (on some days we chose to stay longer to monitor more cases). We had the great opportunity to observe and learn about imaging from Dr. Suhail, surgical techniques from Dr. Afifi, and the ATLS approach to trauma from Dr. Husham, with whom we had extensive and in-depth discussions on the subject. We followed the treatment of emblematic cases such as a patient victim of a car accident, who underwent endovascular surgery with placement of a stent in the aorta, in addition to several others. We also participated in the National Sepsis Symposium on September 13th and 14th, in which we had contact with the most current on the subject.

We also had the opportunity to contribute to the team with two presentations. Dr. Matheus presented a lecture on Damage Control after the Morning Round and Dr. Giane on the RASS scale, during the Flash Lecture that takes place in the ICU before the cases pass. In addition to the medical experience, the internship brought us a great opportunity to get to know a new culture, new people, and new experiences”.

This internship was the first one in the collaboration between Hamad and Unicamp, developed by Prof. Rizoli and Prof. Gustavo P. Fraga, Coordinator of Division of Trauma Surgery, through the SMS - Unicamp International Office.

Dr. Dourado concluded: “We are extremely grateful to everyone involved, to all the doctors, nurses, assistants, residents and other staff, who were always willing to teach and assist us during this period at Hamad General Hospital, and everyone will forever remain in our hearts”.