Belarusian GP: foreign students not used to local weather and cooking


Yadviha Astraumava, a Minsk GP working in a student clinic, spoke about her foreign patients.

According to her, students from other countries respect Belarusian doctors. At the same time such patients often require extra-medical care.

“Sometimes you need to teach them how to cook porridge, fry meat. After all, they come from countries with very different food traditions compared to Belarus. It is difficult to readjust. At home, some of them eat mainly fruit, vegetables, and it may be hard to find them in Minsk. We know that you can buy them in the supermarket, and they have no idea,” says Doctor Astraumava.

She adds that some bring with them to Belarus fast food, and after suffering from stomach problems.

Yadviha Astraumava notes that during the exam periods students generally forget about examinations and medical tests. However, students from Arab countries cherish their health:

“If you tell a Libyan his blood pressure is 140/90, he would go see a doctor twice a day, without waiting in line: “I’m sick, let me through.” And God forbid, they have a runny nose (Arab students called it flu), they would spend a week in bed for treatment”.

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