<p>We were given information about the available different accommodation
apartments and their websites. We requested to be helped to make the bookings.
The four of us were booked accommodation in Jagargatan apartments. The place is
very convenient because it’s very close to the train station and the bus stages
for easy movement. The rooms are big enough, well-furnished and equipped with
the necessary furniture, beddings, and lights, kitchen equipment for one to
prepare, keep, warm, and serve. There is a shared laundry on each floor. There
has been available wifi and the password was given before we came to Sweden
this service has been of very much importance. It has eased a lot of our
communications. The standards of the apartments are good for use as single
apartments for the teachers but not as shared apartments due to lack of
privacy.</p>
<p>The official communication and teaching at Karolinska Institutet is the
Swedish language, however all communications and teachings that we received or
gave were in the English language. There was definitely a language barrier
because I do not know the Swedish language. In fact, I appreciated the fact
that one has to first learn Swedish in order to interact better with the
patients. One aspect of the Swedish culture that I found very appealing was the
taking the coffee breaks. These are social breaks respected by all members.
During the breaks, members of staff interact freely and this was helpful
because it builds smooth relationships between colleagues. Another aspect I
observed in the Swedish culture was the fact that people do respect each other
but they never address each other by their titles. This was a cultural clash
because in Uganda people tendency to show respect by addressing individuals by
their titles. We feel unease to just simply mention the name of an elder or
anyone above your rank without putting their title. That is done to peers and
those younger than you.</p>
<p>We arrived in Stockholm visited on a Saturday afternoon. Next day, we
were welcomed at the program coordinator’s home a great lunch, afterwards which
we went to a beach nearby. I still have great memories about that day. Though
we would have a fully programed day at Flemingsberg campus, we would find time
in the evenings to move around Stockholm city and a few towns in its outcasts.
We went for the royal boat cruise around the city and got a chance to get a
glance to of the open museum of the Swedish Royal architecture and rich
history. We enjoyed the awesome scenery the magnificent buildings and the
different things we observed in the different malls that we visited. The climax
of the social activities was a wonderful farewell Swedish dinner that was
arranged for us at Knut on Regeringsgatan. We were served the traditional
Northern Swedish dishes of several animals, horse, reindeers, moose, etc which
were served with creamed potatoes and sugared lingonberries. Great thanks to all
the organizers.</p>
<p>I did not get a chance to have study visits outside Karolinska Institutet.
However, we had a chance to visit the Teaching and Learning Unit at Alfred
Nobels Alle 10. The head of the unit took us around. We found a magnificent set
up of the different sections within the unit where they do the audios, the
visual recordings plus a section where zoom meetings are coordinated. He gave
an inspirational overview of what they do in the unit and we were amazed at
what we learnt about teaching students. I realized there is a lot that we need
to know in order for us to effectively teach the students. I appreciated the
fact that different methods can be used to teach the students. There must be a
very systematic inflow of the information, several methods of teaching have to
be utilized, (lectures, video recordings both audio and visual, peer group
discussions, quizzes, practical sessions etc). In the overviews, students
should clearly be informed of the intended learning objectives and the
nitty-gritty of how they are to achieve their objective. Thereafter an appropriate
method of assessment should cover a wide field of knowledge and skills obtained.
There is really a lot that we need to learn from the Teaching and Learning
Unit. The good news is that some of the teaching material can be accessed on
their website and he informed us that more information is in the pipeline to be
uploaded. He talked of the possibility of organizing zoom teachings for our
dental school, and given the good collaboration there is between the two
universities, if he could come through the teacher exchange program, the entire
dental school staff would have the opportunity interact with him and they would
all collectively gain skills for effective teaching.</p>
I was able to do almost all the necessary preparations for this visit.
The international coordinator did a fantastic job of communicating to us about
every detail. She gave us the necessary websites, maps and all the necessary
directions to our accommodation, to Solna and all the places that we had to
move too. She further warned us about the weather and encouraged us to Google
and get to know the expected weather conditions so as to make adequate
preparations for the coldness since we were coming from a warm environment. She
informed us about different the electronic charging system in Sweden such that
we came with the necessary adaptors otherwise we would never have been able to
charge our phones and the laptops. She always responds to the emails promptly
and actually made all the necessary connections with different persons to
ensure we obtained all that was needed for the visa ,the air tickets, internal
communications and travel through Stockholm city.
<p>From this visit, I have received a lot of insights on how I can become a
better teacher. I have learnt that students learn a lot during the pre-clinical
demonstrations and during the peer interaction sessions when they actually
perform procedures on themselves. Through these sessions they get real actual
feel of a clinical experience such that they become faster at the procedure.
They get an idea of what the patients feel and thus through their own
experience, learn what they have to communicate to the patients in terms of
what is to be done, why, how it is done and what to expect as it done. Since there is scarcity of the different case scenarios that the
students must learn to treat, there is need use of the molds to replicate a
good number of study models for the practical demonstrations and technical
skills acquisition. From the infection control unit, there were a number of
simple known and adjustable steps that can be implemented at no additional
cost. From the health education unit, there is lot of useful information that I
learnt and I wish to share with both the students and the patients I treat so
as to promote prevention of dental caries and gum diseases which are have the
highest prevalent dental diseases in Uganda. I got a chance to discuss some
aspects of a possible research topic for my PHD these. I am excited about this
and I have already embarked on looking for some literature about it.</p>
<p>I was so enthralled with the teaching activities in Karolinska
Institutet. The students are taught through a number of ways. During their
pre-clinical years, the students are given lectures, the watch videos, work on
assimilators and in endodontic the students do their cleaning and shaping
sessions on the plastic blocks. I found this very a very inspirational experience
for the students because they clearly get to understand what happens with the
natural setting. They understand the clogging, effect, perforation, spillage in
the peri-apical area etc. Another interesting thing I observed in both the pre-
clinical and the clinical years, was the fact that the students have a
self-assessment session when the jot down their personal reflections of what
they have been able to achieve per session and what they have to go back and
improve. Their supervisors were very vigilant in guiding the students to
achieve their learning objectives; I was amazed by what I learnt from the Oral
health clinic. I realized that as dentists or specialist we put a lot of
emphasis on management and do very little in area of prevention. The health education
that I knew and have been providing or teaching the students has been too
superficial mainly because one can only give what he /she has. I learnt the
different teeth brushing techniques for the young children, the Modified Bass
tooth brushing method being the most recommended for all ages and I got to know
how it is done. The different types of toothbrushes and their uses in for the
different oral conditions: after oral surgery, the elderly/ patient with low
muscle tonicity, for patients undergoing orthodontic treatment, those with
dentures and those with bridges, crowns and implants. They explained the use of
different formulations fluoride (mouth rinses, gel and varnish) in different
levels of caries risks. The role of diet control and the importance a
systematic follow–up and the process of assessment during the follow up
sessions were all explained. In both universities, the teaching methods are quite similar. These
include lectures, seminars, group discussions, pre-clinical phatom laboratory
work, pre-clinical demonstration and clinical sessions. The different courses
are taught in blocks; that is to say at a specific period. However, in my
university, the students do not have the simulators and the plastic blocks to
practice on so as to get the real natural experience. In Karolinska Institutet the
students have all the necessary instruments and materials for the practical
work, they tend to be more vigilant in watching their demonstration videos
before coming to the practical sessions hence are more self-motivated and
organized in the clinic. The students have not been taught to have personal
assessment reflections which I realize is very crucial in the learning process.
It’s one of the things I have learnt and wish to implement immediately.</p>
<p>I did not give any formal lecture while at Karolinska but I shared some
chair-side clinical experiences with some students in both the Orthodontic
clinic and the pre-clinical endodontic session when the students were working
on the plastic blocks. I spent about 9 hours in the orthodontic clinic observing different
orthodontic procedures being done by the resident students. I appreciated the
issue of efficient recording keeping. New pictures and elaborate clinical notes
are taken at every visit and the next procedure is well explained to the
patient as they are booked for the next appointment. I attended the residency
students’ two-hour seminar on the biology of the bone and tooth movements
explaining the cellular and molecular mechanisms. I also attended a one-hour
group discussion on orthodontic treatment planning for different patients that
had been clerked and investigated.</p>