Aleksandra Djordjevic

MDRP Student 2019

Aleksandra Djordjevic is a final year medical student, undertaking her MDRP project with the Department of Surgery at Western Health. Following her completion of a Bachelor of Medical Science in 2013, she went on to complete an Honours degree in Science in 2014. Aleksandra worked as a research assistant at the University of New South Wales, after which she began her post-graduate medical studies in 2016.

Currently, she is under the guidance and supervision of A/Prof Justin Yeung and Ms Irene Deftereos. Her MDRP project is focused on the nutritional and functional status of colorectal cancer patients undergoing surgery. She aims to investigate the impact of nutritional and functional status on surgical outcomes and hopes that the project will yield data showing the need for pre-operative nutritional screening and active nutritional support in this population.

An excerpt of her experience so far:

“From the outset I have received support from Justin and Irene as well as the extended Dietetics team. Weekly meetings have been set up to make sure everything is on track and to fine tune any details. The project is patient focused, involving history taking and physical assessment which has been great for my clinical skills. Furthermore, there are opportunities to attend multidisciplinary meetings, clinics and theatre to provide a holistic experience.

Overall it has truly been a collaborative process and I am excited to see the outcome of our project. I recommend future MDRP students strongly consider undertaking their project at Western Health.”