This is not a classic blog post, where I talk about myself and what I have learned from my experience. This is the story of my longtime friend Adnan Mujanović, an intelligent guy with a cheerful spirit and a wide smile, who knew how to connect the incompatible.
As I see it, “TOP 30 under 30” posts from numerous agencies are now appearing on social networks, promoting young, successful, people. I know a few who have made their wishes come true and are in that category. Adnan is a person who definitely belongs to that group and I hope that one day it will be official.
Who is Adnan?
Adnan is from Tuzla, and he graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tuzla. He is 24 years old and currently holds two positions in Switzerland: Assistant Physician and Assistant Researcher at the University Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology of the University of Bern. He works very closely with the Neurology Clinic of the Clinical Center in Bern.
In addition, Adnan is active in non-formal education as a young editor for the International Journal of Medical Students. He also holds the position of reviewer for clinical studies at Harvard Journal of Public Health.
His previous, informal, engagement was related to numerous associations, and those that stand out are: the coordinator of the section for neuroscience, and a member of the board of the Student Council of the Medical Faculty Tuzla – MEDICUS. He was also elected President of the Assembly of the Association of Medical Students of BiH. In addition, he was a member of the Quality Management Committee, and part of the team that wrote the strategy of the University of Tuzla for the period 2020-2030.
Fantastic. I don’t know how he fits all of this in his email signature (and I only refer to the Bern part).
Additional training
The path Adnan took was not the path of a classical student. He was among the best students, who took exams in the early stages, to spend his free time on additional training through the summer schools each year of his studies. At the beginning of his studies, he was not familiar with the concept of studying and the university in general, and he wanted to explore it for himself. He applied for interesting calls – which gave young medical students the opportunity – to see how things are done in other countries. The countries in which he participated in exchanges are: Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Egypt and Morocco. The sixth exchange was prevented by the pandemic.
The main reason why most students did not do the same is because they were focused on passing extremely difficult exams, they spend every summer day and night reading a book. If they have passed the exams in the first term, most students want to take a break from university. Some of the other reasons are lack of information and fear, as well as reasons related to the financial situation. Many students, due to lack of information, are not aware that there are programs that fund all of the above. During his studies, Adnan fought for his colleagues to get all the necessary information about opportunities that can help them in their career path.
Scientific research papers
His first work was not scientific research, but specifically scientific work. It was created as a result of the first exchange in Belgium. This paper is based on the topic of nuclear waste and its impact on thyroid cancer. Other research papers were created as a product of discovering topics from year to year during his studies. All research papers were recognized in the world and received numerous awards, so he received invitations for international cooperation.
He participated in many projects and covered different areas, which reflects Adnan’s path in the scientific-research world. All of the above (through student engagement) helped him to be prepared for much more serious projects as a doctor.
Why did he leave to Switzerland?
During his studies, Adnan was searching the area of medicine that suited him the best, and it became clear in his sixth year of study. One area stood out, and that is the blood vessels in the brain (the simplest explanation). When he realized what he wanted, he devoted himself to researching where he could do it. After that research and gathered information, he came to the conclusion that the topic is so rare and that we currently have only 6 doctors in Europe who deal with it. He would be seventh.
He realized that he could not commit to this area in BiH and that was the first encounter with the reality. As so far what could be seen in his actions: Adnan is a self-initiated person. He decided to take a step forward and contact people who work on this topic.
At the end of 2020, everything started to happen, quickly and unexpectedly, that at the beginning of 2021, Adnan was given an opportunity that was not given to students and young doctors living in Switzerland. This is all because he was persistent in researching and working on the realization of his wishes, and because of that he proved the knowledge he has to their experts, which is why they chose him. The only thing that is exhausting in Switzerland is their administration and the process of obtaining documents, because he is from BiH.
Everything was spontaneous and amazing. According to him, medicine is a beautiful science, which in BiH has lost its beauty in its administration. He believes that we have educated medical staff (although there are bad professionals in every sector, so there are people here for whom it is not clear how fate brought them to these positions). He stands firmly behind his words, because he can compare the countries in which he worked on exchanges and our country. He believes there has always been a huge shortage of medical resources, and this is now in the public spotlight because of respirators.
Opinion on the education system in BiH
We must work on the educational system in every profession, especially the medical one. There is a lot to improve without thinking about the current situation, because there have always been shortcomings. He has experienced the way this science is taught in other countries, and for that reason he knows he can do better. This pace of work will leave our medical staff not being competitive in the global labor market in the near future.
Unfortunately, we cannot rely on a couple of examples of successful doctors, who have made a name out of our country. It is individual and depends only on them, and not on the educational system. Education is at the level that you are forced to stay in BiH, because you increasingly do not meet the criteria at the global level. In addition, doctors are frustrated because they do not get enough from the education system, and when they start working, they do not have the basic resources for work. The medical staff has been working in difficulty and improvised conditions for years. It’s a closed circle.
We create our own happiness
From everything you have just read, you can make a conclusion that this person is not a “typical” student, and especially not a “typical” medical student. I am sorry that Adnan could not find his happiness in our country, but I do not think that you have to stay where you are your whole life. Your happiness may not be where you grew up and there should be no limits. It is up to us how we explore the opportunities that are offered to us, as Adnan did for himself.
