MyWellbeing

As we all know, Med School is an incredibly exciting time of your life but can also be extremely stressful. Yes, getting the grades is important but it shouldn’t come at the expense of your wellbeing. Be sure to look after yourself and support your colleagues as we become the kinds of doctors who take care of our own health as well as our patients’. Here are some resources that will help you if you are struggling. Remember, we are all in this together.

Mental Health

The University Counselling Services (UCS) by the MUW’s Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Communication were founded in January 2014. It is a service available for all MUW’s students. The UCS team includes eight psychologists (five English speaking) including a sexologist.

The offered services provided by UCS to the ED students include:

Counselling (including Skype consults for MUW students currently studying abroad on the exchange programmes)
Coaching
Psychoeducation
Stress Management Training
Basic Biofeedback Training for Stress Control
Sexological education.

You can check out their Self-Help Materials here:

You may find more information on their website: ucs.wum.edu.pl

Physical Health

Health care can be one of the more troublesome aspects of studying abroad, especially in a country where you do not speak the language. It is often not clear what options are available to foreigners. Below are links to some clinics which students have utilised in the past, with services available in English (and some providing services in Arabic, Russian, Italian, German and Spanish).

Fitness

To keep your health in tip-top condition during your studies, we highly recommend spending some of your time exercising - whether, running, sports, weight training or yoga, there is an abundance of options available to you in Warsaw.

The university's new Sport's Centre is home to an olympic swimming pool, sport's hall, climbing wall, weights room and a bowling alley. You can find their website here.

Several private gyms are available and to those who are avid runners can participate in Park Run every Saturday morning rain, hail and snow. Warsaw is also home to a lot of Marathons so keep an eye out for those.

Legal Aid

For any number of reasons you may need to gain legal advice during your time in Warsaw. The Association for Legal Intervention (SIP) is a non-profit organisation which provides free legal advice to individuals with the aim of combating social exclusions and assisting those whose rights and freedoms are threatened or violated.

Website: interwencjaprawna.pl/en

Phone: 22 621 51 65

At some point, you may also be required to get a Polish police check. This could be a requirement of setting up electives or when gaining employment in countries like the United Kingdom and Australia. This is acquired via the Ministerstwo Sprawiedliwości. It can take time, so patience is required. You can find more info here.