Veterinary Studies Did Not Meet Her Expectations, so Míša Decided to Change Her Field of Study. Howe
60 ǀ POSITIV 1/2024
ZDRAVOTNICTVÍ
When did you realise that studying veterinary
medicine was something you would like to pursue?
I knew that I wanted to study veterinary medicine ever
since I started high school. This decision momentarily
changed during the course of my studies to philology
or chemistry, but I ultimately chose medicine. From
the long-term point of view, any profession within
the medical field offers a stable career, no matter what
the situation might be here in the Czech Republic or
globally. I was not interested in the field of humanistic
medicine as I did not find it diverse enough. Since both
of my parents are physicians, I knew I wanted to go my
own way.
What is your story with the 1
st
International School
of Ostrava?
My story with ISO began in September 2021. For more
than six months I was determined to make a change
in my life. And that is what happened. As I look back
on my experience, I believe that no other school could
have possibly prepared me for life as well as ISO has.
Thanks to its international students and teachers, my
horizon broadened, and my knowledge expanded.
Both have transcended onto the global level, which
helped me to not be limited by the topics of discussion
when interacting with people. I not only learned how
to form my own ideas and opinions, but also how to
assert and justify them. All this does not even include
the foreign language teaching that is of outstanding
quality at ISO. The most important thing I was given in
the short two years I studied at ISO would probably be
the friends I met and can always depend on.
How did your high school studies prepare you
for attending university?
After high school, I started studying veterinary
medicine in Brno where I am to this day. I could
choose between two programmes: veterinary hygiene
and ecology, where I got without entrance exams, and
veterinary medicine, which requires entrance exams
from chemistry and biology. Due to the fact that my
high school class of 10 people was mostly humanities-
oriented, the sciences seminar did not open.
The school was however very accommodating in this
aspect, and I was allowed to attend a seminar with my
juniors. The chemistry taught in the seminar was more
than enough to successfully complete the chemistry
portion of the entrance exams. The only problem was
that ISO teaches biology in English from the get-go
and I, as someone who has transferred from a Polish
high school, had no knowledge of Czech biological
terminology. I had to sign up for a preparatory course
offered by the university. Here, I have to again stress
how accommodating and helpful the teachers at this
school are. I had an individual study plan in biology
that allowed me to prepare for the entrance exams.
Moreover, I did not want to graduate from biology, so
it was easier this way.
What are your current studies like and what do
they entail?
The first few years of veterinary medicine are
probably more challenging than in human medicine.
The students are required to learn the body
structure of eight animals (horse, cow, pig, goat,
sheep, dog, cat, and rabbit). Though there are
similarities, there are also countless differences in
addition to differences in functions and microscopic
structures. Contrary to popular belief, this is studied
as thoroughly as it would be in humans. As far as
the next few years are concerned, I believe that
the scope of medical practice with animals is much
more limited than with humans. There are numerous
diseases that do not exist or are not treated
predominantly because it would be costly, and no
pet owner could afford it. Veterinary medicine, just
Veterinary Studies Did Not Meet
Her Expectaons, so Míša Decided to
Change Her Field of Study. However,
She Will Stay in Medicine.
Michaela Polášková, an alumni of the 1
st
Internaonal School of Ostrava (ISO), has chosen to
connue her studies in the eld of veterinary medicine in Brno. What drives current high school
students to study medicine? How does the study of veterinary medicine dier from human
medicine? Is it beer to study in the Czech Republic or abroad? Michaela shares her experience
and oers some insight through this interview.
“
IknewthatIwantedtostudy
veterinarymedicineeversinceIstarted
highschool.Thisdecisionmomentarily
changedduringthecourseofmystudies
tophilologyorchemistry,butIulmately
chosemedicine.Fromthelong-term
pointofview,anyprofessionwithin
themedicaleldoersastablecareer.
”