Trouver notre place au bloc opératoire grâce à un projet mené par des étudiant·es : le parcours de Paula

What does it mean to step into the unknown—and turn it into something shared? From a single question born in the corridors of medical school to a transnational learning experience within the CIVIS Alliance, Paula’s journey through the CIVIS Operating Room Days Student-Led Project captures the essence of what it means to learn, connect, and grow across borders. Our CIVIS Ambassador from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid shares her story in this blog entry.

Where It All Started

It wasn’t dramatic, but it was constant. The more we talked about it in the corridors and between classes, the clearer it became that we were all trying to navigate the same uncertainty.

I was already familiar with CIVIS, and I was drawn to the idea of connecting students, of creating something that could go beyond a single university and perhaps perspective. So I decided to try. I sat down and wrote a small proposal for the first Student-Led Projects call.

Then I reached out to my classmates, and we started working. Many things were unclear at the beginning, but we had a shared motivation that felt enough to start. We decided to submit it as a pilot… and a few months later, the first workshop took form in Madrid.

What we didn’t expect was that the question we had started with would resonate beyond our own environment. Through CIVIS, the project slowly opened up to different universities and different ways of approaching medical training. What had started as something local began to evolve into something shared

But moving from a local initiative to a transnational experience was not simple. It required us to rethink how we communicated, how we structured the sessions, and how we created a space where everyone could feel included despite differences in language, background, or experience. In many ways, that became part of the project itself.

From online planning to a workshop in Rome

When we arrived in Rome in March 2026, it was the first time most of the organising team met in person. Until then, everything had been built across distance through calls, messages, and shared documents. It no longer felt like separate efforts coming together, but like a shared project created by CIVIS medical students.

During the workshop, we focused on everything that is usually left unspoken. At first, you notice there is hesitation to speak. But slowly it shifted. People began to take risks and learning became collective. It was a big success!

As Najoua Laajab, a PhD candidate at Stockholm University researching “Learning What It Means To Be Strong in Medical Education” and a member of the CIVIS OR Days collaborative team, reflects on her experience:

I had the opportunity to see my research on resilience in medical education applied in practice during CIVIS OR Days. It was rewarding to observe how students learned to handle pressure and work as a team during role-play clinical scenarios

And yet, some of the most meaningful moments didn’t happen during the sessions. In conversations where we compared how things are done in different countries. In shared meals where languages shifted naturally. In small reflections at the end of the day. These were the moments where the project truly became real.

What Stayed With Me

Being part of the second edition also meant looking back. It’s been amazing to see our project grow beyond our university and become a European collaboration. I realised that learning became less daunting when I saw I wasn’t the only one figuring it out. And maybe that’s exactly what is expected from us when we step into the operating room for the first time.

Explore more about the CIVIS OR Days Student-Led Project

Text and Photo credits: Paula Medio for CIVIS