"I changed into thermals as soon as I got off the plane!"

Roshika Fernando is a 5th year (tenth semester) international student who is studying in the RSU study programme Medicine. She has been actively involved in the Rīga Stradiņš University International Student Association (ISA) for a few years now and is hoping to become an obstetrician and gynaecologist when she finishes her studies at RSU.

5th year medical student Roshika Fernando helping a child to  reduce their fear of  'white coats' at the RSU ISA Teddy Bear Hospital event. Photo: Niels Rudnik.

Which country are you from and where did you attend school?

I went to various schools actually – my primary school was in Sri Lanka, and my high school was in Paris, France – and then I went back to Sri Lanka to complete my Advanced levels in Colombo.

How did you decide on Medicine in the first place – have you always had an interest in it?

When I was small and I was playing with my toys, I remember by grandfather brought me a toolkit, with a stethoscope and other instruments and I already thought – I’m going to be a doctor! I thought that this idea is just going to go away, but the interest increased, and it became my favourite profession…

Are you from a family of doctors?

Actually my mother’s father is an ayurvedic doctor, who practiced Eastern medicine in Sri Lanka… but I wanted to study Western – modern – medicine.

You finished school in Colombo. Take me through your thought process when you were searching for a university.

Because I did Cambridge A levels, my first target was the UK. And as I was searching for universities, I learnt that there are two exam intakes in Sri Lanka, but in the UK there is only one, so by the time I finished my exams I had to wait eight months. In the meantime I thought I would try some other universities so I went back to France. At a party there, I found out about RSU. Eventually I was given the RSU website and I called the Admission Department; at that time Māris (Ginters) was dealing with immigration matters, and I already had a good feeling about this choice. At the same time I applied to LU as well but I got the first acceptance letter from RSU, and I was really pleased about that.

What was the application process like – enrolling at RSU?

I had to do double legalisation for some of my documents because my birth certificate was from Sri Lanka, there are some legal issues with the process, but apart from that it was not complicated. I had completed most of my exams in English as they were international exams.

What was it like acclimatising, finding accommodation, getting used to life here – including the weather?

Actually I was warned about the weather, but I thought ­, “Oh, that’s nothing, it’s not that bad – even France has winter”! So I didn’t take much notice of the advice, insisting that I really must bring warm clothes, as I was worried about other things such as textbooks and other issues. On their repeated insistence, I did go and buy some. I arrived a week before Orientation Week so I could get used to the environment – the Admissions Office had  organised my accommodation in the student hostel. As the plane was about to land, the thing that surprised me the most was the landscape down below. I asked my father who was sitting next to me, “Do you think that’s the sea? Because it was all white…and we both came to that conclusion that it was, because Rīga is near the sea. Then we realised that it wasn’t … there was a pile of snow and ice on the tarmac…it was -35C at that time! The first thing we did…we got changed into thermals, as soon as we got down! This was the first time I had seen so much snow in a town that is not a ski resort! Plus it was one of the coldest winters ever here!

​

Roshika Fernando (centre) with other members of the ISA Board at the Medical Symposium – Essential Diagnostic Skills In Medicine .

Initially did you notice any other differences, walking around, getting used to the town?

When I came, there were not that many Asian students. Getting around was a little bit difficult, maybe because I come from a very busy city. The first thing I wondered was – why don’t they have a metro here, but then I realised the town is quite small. It was quite hard to find places … and the language was a little bit difficult because at that time – five years ago – not that many people spoke English. It’s changed over the past few years, though. At that time, I noticed that the older generation did not speak English. Nowadays, however, when I speak to people on the street, they do try and do speak a little English.

Possibly because they encounter more international students and tourists in daily life so they’re forced to try ….

I think so. Because the number of international students coming here has been increasing…when I started, we were 100-120 people …now per intake there’s around 300-350 students. In total now there are over 2,000 international students.

Have you noticed a difference in development of the town over the years?

Yes, when I came here I lived in Āgenskalns, where we didn’t have many supermarkets…but now there is a large one across the street from us and that’s great because it’s really convenient. Now there are more restaurants, and so many fast food places. Regarding student accommodation – apart from two hostels, there was only one private student hostel to stay but now there are already four. I think it’s really developed in comparison with when I arrived.

And the accommodation at the student hostel from Day One – how have you found it?

Yes, they were very welcoming at that time and as soon as I came, the lady who was at reception asked me where I come from, and immediately she introduced me to some of the students, gave me the numbers of hostel rooms where she thought the student was from Sri Lanka, or India … And I was assigned a buddy, a Latvian girl, who was studying Rehabilitation and she came the next day and she took me to a shopping centre and department store to buy kitchen utensils.

Moving forward in time – how did you find Orientation Week?

Now that I’m involved in organising Orientation Week, if I compare it, then at the time I was attending it, we had few activities. It comprised about three days of getting to know the university in a formal way and there were few fun activities. I think the only activity for socialising was the welcome event, together with the Latvian students, which was run by the Student Union at that time as there was no proper international student association at that time. We had an excursion around Rīga, but I was not paying attention, to be honest, as it was really cold!

Regarding myself, I didn’t get involved as soon as I came. My friends were more active than I was. It took some time – some 2 to 3 years for me to come forward and get involved.

How long have you been active in the ISA and what is your position on the Board?

In my fourth semester I decided to get involved, once the tough years of study were nearly over.  I thought that I could give something back to the students and the university, so I decided to run for a post and got elected – at the end of 2013.

I have been working as the public relations officer for two years now. Before that I was working in the Asian Society, first as the treasurer, then moved on to become president.

What does your position as public relations officer involve?

Mostly I organise the ISA social media posts – Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and also answer enquiries. We’ve also been more involved in updating the ISA section of the RSU website. I started up an online newsletter that is published the first week of every month, where we incorporate the information provided by all international student societies, not just ISA activities.

What else does ISA organise?

We mainly organise academic and social events. Of the academic events, the biggest one is the Medical Symposium and we also invite guest lecturers on different topics. If someone is interested in a specific topic they can contact us and we would try to bring the lecturers over. We also run workshops where students get to work with the equipment. We had a lecture on USMLE – if people are interested in working in USA they can find out about the process involved in applying.

Then we organise social events such as Worldwide – where we gather students from all the student societies ­­– organise stalls, they get to represent their culture, perform, and share special foods from each country. The Xmas kick-off party is not too far away.

​

Roshika Fernando (on right) performing a traditional Sri Lankan dance as part of the 2018 RSU Worldwide event.

Let’s turn to your studies. The first years were the pre-clinical subjects. What was your impression of those? Which lecturers or professors stay in mind the most?

The first two years were a little bit different to what the students have now. From what I have heard from students, they have exams –­ but when we had exams, we had a few more colloquiums than them and most of these were essay-type questions but they have multiple choice questions now. In my first two years we actually had to study a lot. I have a few lecturers still in my mind – my Chemistry lecturer, Assist. Prof. Agnese Brangule, lecturer in Anatomy, Assist. Prof. Duļevska. I remember both lecturers were very helpful in my first year.  Prof. Ingus Skadiņš’ teaching I took on with mixed emotions – at the beginning he was strict, but gradually, he mellowed. Since then, he has been helping us – with everything!

Regarding the subjects in the pre-clinical years – which of them were easy, which were difficult?

Chemistry was easy; that was one of my favourite subjects. The hardest were Anatomy and Latin. I’d never taken Latin as a subject, especially the grammar, the endings. I spent so much time on that subject, that I neglected some of the other subjects. In Anatomy – the Latin words were harder for me.

What were the most stressful times of the year?

For me, the third and fourth semesters were harder, there was a lot to study.

Moving onto the clinical years, the third and fourth year.

They started with the fifth semester and everything started becoming very interesting from then on, because you actually get to see patients, you realise why you were studying those subjects in pre-clinics. I was very excited to see the first patient!

So in the clinical subjects you were assigned to walk around with specific doctors?

We had a subject – Communication Skills – and that was the first time we were introduced to patients, so first we talked about bedside manner, how you should talk to the patients, and how to deal with them, as each patient is different. Then in Propaedeutics we got to learn the basic skills – how to auscultate, how to palpate – the basic things – and then, based on those, we build on that little by little.

How have you found communicating with patients in hospital? Did you have compulsory Latvian classes in your first years of study?

It was compulsory for the first three semesters. And always as a B subject – I chose Latvian until my 9th semester and after that there was no B course for Latvian. It was really useful for communication with the patients. But now I have a list of questions that I ask because sometimes if the patients start describing symptoms in detail in Latvian, I get lost. This list of questions is based on “yes” or “no” answers ­– to get me to the final diagnostics.

But I always ask if they speak English, that is my first question. I do try to stick with Latvian because it’s easier for the patient. If they know English, that also helps – just the key words – then I can ask them, “Did you mean this?” Still, if they don’t understand, I just use Google Translate and show it to them on my phone and ask them if that is what they meant.

You’re involved in ISA, are you involved in any other kinds of extra-curricular activities here?

With the Latvian Samaritan Association – I got this opportunity through the Asian Society. It is close to where I live, called Māras Centre, a crisis centre for mothers and children who have been in different trauma situations. They also have an aged care facility – as a group we go there a few times a month and we make our own national dishes, we give presentations showing photos of the countries, share the food, run some activities. I’m surprised that they’re willing to sit and listen to the entire presentation and also ask questions. When I was giving a presentation on Sri Lanka they were very curious, the presentation went for over 1.5 hours, because they asked questions!

What do you do during semester breaks and in summer?

In summer I mostly go back to France and there I take on summer jobs… I go on vacation with my family, out of Paris, to another country.

If I get some free time after my exams, I go to France for a week, if not, I just stay here and prepare for the next semester.

How much have you been outside Rīga and seen more of Latvia?

I have seen most of the larger towns here. Daugavpils, Jelgava, Liepāja – many places. Since first semester, my friends and I have gone on road trips quite a lot.

Speaking of friends, are most of your friends international students or have you also made friends with Latvian students?

I have a few Latvian friends actually, most of them I have met through different associations – my first Latvian friend was my flatmate – we are still friends, even though she’s already graduated. And then there was my buddy, the one I was introduced to through the university. After that I have had several Latvian friends – a few I met at the Latvian Samaritan Association.

So you have integrated quite well, it seems.

I like some of the traditions here – I really like Jāņi, I like to get dressed up, with flowers in my hair. We try not to miss that and then there’s Lāčplēša diena – we go and light candles at Rīga Castle. We’ve taken up these traditions from the beginning of our studies, although initially we just went out of curiosity.

​

Roshika (front row, centre) at the RSU International Student Association 7th Year Anniversary.

What is your impression of the university in general, the facilities, the grounds, the teaching and administration staff?

It definitely has developed since the day I arrived. The staff are friendlier, they are very open now. I really like the fact that the university actually asks us – what do you expect? I really value that because we can actually voice our opinion in the evaluation forms given to us at the end of each subject. And I have actually seen that it works; the staff actually read them and change things!

Then there’s the Medical Education Technology Centre – that’s the main achievement. When I came here we did not have it. I was scared to try with the patients first, there are simulators you can actually try now. And the new hospital block at Stradiņš hospital now is very good. Everything has changed, more facilities…now the library is open 24/7!

Most of my lectures – since the 7^th semester – are video lectures now, the physical lectures are held at Linezers and Gaiļezers which for us are the main study campuses now. When I started here I never heard students from the older years mentioning video lectures.

What are your plans for the future?

The main thing is that I want to go on to a country where English is spoken, so my first choice is UK, hopefully I think it will work out, or maybe USA. I hope everything works out for at least the first few weeks to be able to work in the UK, specialising in Gynaecology and Obstetrics…that’s been my dream since I’ve been young.

And how are you coping with winter now?

When the seasons change from summer to winter, I do complain a little but I’m just used to it now, I notice it when I go home – my parents say, “Aren’t you cold?” And I’ll reply, “Ah, this is not cold!”