During the period from November 2013 until the end of January 2014, after the contract between Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy and the Center for Palliative Care and Palliative Medicine BELhospice had been signed, two students of a Master’s in Clinical Psychology degree had their practical placement organised at BELhospice.

Throughout this period these students were able to establish direct contact with our cancer patients and their families, get familiar with the concept of palliative care and its principles as well as with the method and organisation of BELhospice center ‘s work. They were also able to get to know what the role and duties of a psychologists in palliative care are and what its importance is in giving the psycho – social care and support to both our patients as well as to their families

„The mentor’s role and commitment within this process are quite significant, but having such high quality students genuinely interested made it all easier and a real pleasure to work with“, states Mijodrag Bogićević, a social worker at the BELhospice center and adds: „Sanja Samardzija and Milica Karaulić have both demonstrated a high level of motivation and interest to participate in their practical placement in the best possible way and to get familiar with the area of palliative care of cancer patients to the best of their abilities. While working with the patients they have shown professionalism and expertise, therefore I’m certain that they will turn out to be great clinical psychologists. Above all these two students are great people and I am very glad to have had the opportunity to meet and work with them.“

„During a few months of cooperation with the BELhospice team we have gained a unique and valuable experience. We got to know what the practice of palliative care is and how much the multidisciplinary approach contributes to the holistic understanding of the needs of the patient, who is as a result better taken care of. Conversations with patients who are struggling to find the purpose and beauty of living in a situation of dealing with their disease were a real source of positive energy. We would especially like to highlight the positive and supportive work environment which the team members are constantly creating and investing the effort required to maintain. Overall, this experience has encouraged us to think about our own vulnerability, value and beauty of everyday life „, highlighted Sanja and Milica, students of Master in Clinical Psychology, at Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade.