Algeria, Entry in an unknown world

Text: Tobias Nikolaus Hildbrand | University of Bern

My exchange in Algeria was definitely one of the greatest experiences in my life. After two years of preparation, my exchange finally became a reality. In March 2022, my airplane landed in Constantine, Algeria.

Algeria is the largest country on the African continent. Its society, culture and religion were completely foreign to me. I chose it for my exchange because I felt the need to see the world from a different perspective and break out of the comfort zone of my daily routine in Switzerland. Thus, I had the honour to enjoy the hospitality and fascination of Algeria.

Constantine is an ancient city, built on rocks in the northeast of Algeria. I worked in the Department of Neurosurgery of the CHU Constantine, the Centre Hôspitalo-Universitaire, Dr. Abdesselam Benbadis. One of the focuses was on the surgical treatment of primary brain tumours such as gliomas, meningiomas or vestibular schwannomas. Furthermore, we treated many patients with traumatic skull or brain injury.

During my internship, my shift started at 8 a.m. with the staff meeting. In this meeting, we discussed the serious cases of the last 24 hours and the upcoming surgical interventions. The neurosurgery department was built with 2 operating rooms, 6 intensive care beds, as well as 20 regular hospital beds. Along with the other medical students, I could assist in surgeries, attend the physician’s visits, take patient histories and do neurological examinations. In addition, I had the opportunity to work night shifts in the neurosurgical emergency department, where I was allowed to perform small interventions under supervision.

The procedures at the CHU were completely different from what I was used to.

CHU, Constantine

Medical students at the CHU

Everything was documented on paper, technical equipment and radiological examinations were limited. This allowed a very patient-centred medicine, based on the physical examination and the medical history.

During the whole internship, local medical students took care of me. In the first week, they organised a Teddy Bear Hospital in a primary school in Constantine. For excursions and field trips, a police escort had to be arranged. Once fulfilled security protocols, we discovered, for example, the breath-taking balconies of El Ghoufi at the gates of the Sahara.

I was deeply touched by the Algerians' joy to welcome me and to share – to share their daily life, their social customs, their rich culture and traditions, their religious beliefs, and, last but not least, their home-made dishes.

My study visit in Algeria ended far too quickly and I returned to Switzerland happy and with many unique memories. Memories, that will shape me for the rest of my life. I would like to sincerely thank all those who contributed to making this exchange possible, especially all the representatives of the NMOs swimsa, Switzerland and Le Souk, Algeria.

Teddy Bear Hospital, Constantine

Balconies of El Ghoufi