Exchange report - incoming teachers
Home university: Makerere University
Study programme: Medicine
Exchange programme: Linnaeus-Palme
Semester: Spring semester 2008/2009
Duration: 33
Name: Gonzaga Waiswa Dr
Email address: drgwaiswa2000@gmail.com

Accommendation

Accommodation was arranged through the international coordinator who gave me the contacts to the person concerned with bookings to the University accommodation center. After I contacted them, a room was reserved for me at the Jägargatan 20. 

I believe the standard was good enough, it was simple like for a student but there was internet. It was also vey near to my hosting Department at Södersjukhuset, so it was very convinient for me.
Regarding housing, I dont have much to add or subtract. 

The cost of liviving is high compared to my country but that is expected. However, the costs can be accommodated in the scholarship fund if one is staying at the University accommodation center. Therefore, those on exchange programme should endavour to book early enough so as not to find when all the rooms are occupied.
In case a number of teachers are coming from the same University or country, then coordination can be made such that they come at the same time. Then they can cook together as that can bring down the cost of living to some extent. Other costs like taxi fees can be shared. It is also easier to move in a group than moving alone.


Language and Culture

Generally the teaching was conducted is Swedish however a chance would be given for English. The good thing is that most if not all could speak English although not very comfortably.
Some times Language was a barrier to me as I could not understand the discussions and presentations made in Swedish. I could only appreciate the body language and pictures in such sessions.

About Culture, I found the Swedish very calm people, none harrases a visitor. The majority are out going just like in my country. Every thing is done very fast eg walking, eating  cooking  talking etc. and people are in love with the bicycle and the boat. The only problem I found was smoking by the teenagers. I thought that was a bit too much, give the complications associated with smoking.

Leisure time

Yes they were arranged by fellow teachers. I believe that in future formal arrangements will be done at departmental level.

Miscellaneous

This was a wonderful exchange for me and i request that many more be organised. I will be grateful if am given another opportunity to come back or if this collaboration leads to further study opportunities for me at PhD level.

Other activities

During my stay, I also visited the children hospital and the trauma center to get to know the activities done there and possible collaborative research that can be done with our department at home. I also made research contacts with the department of public Health science, Division of Global Health(IHCAR), for a possible PhD project in injury epidemiology/control/prevention.

About future collaboration, I think this should continue and even become much stronger for a long time. This relationship gives a teacher good international exposure that puts one at a better position as a lecturer. It narrow the knowledge gap and also builds Net working. It also stimulates academic progress.

Preparation

1 ) Knowing about the opportunity to come for the teacher exchange programme.
In August last year our department received information from the Dean of the School of medicine, that there was an opportunity for the department to send one Lecturer to Karolinska Institutet for a teacher exchange programme. So the Academic committee of the department sat and selected me to come for the exchange programme. That is how i came to know about the opportunity.


2)  Preparation for the visit. 
Yes i did prepare my visit. I prepared teaching materials that included: Power point presentations, Teaching demontration models and posters. I also prepared for the weather. 
All my presentations were in English. I did not have time to learn Swedish before coming and yet most of the teaching is done in Swedish Language. 


3) Knowing any Useful Links. 
Yes i did Know of a useful link. A doctor from the hosting Deparment had been to our department before, under the same scholarship and he was very helpful in the organisation for my coming. The Internatinal coordinator here was also wonderfully useful.

Reflections

This teacher exchange programme has been a grate opportunity to me as a teacher in a medical school in a developing country and to my self as a person.
It has been a learning opportunity for me, a teaching opportunity, a discovery opportunity and a net working opportunity.
I have learnt new knowledge, skills and abilities that will be helpful in my teaching carrier back at home.
I have appreciated the problem based learning curriculum and the required learning environment, and I did not encounter any thing bad.

Teaching

I found that the teaching method was based on a problem based learning curriculum which is similar to the one we use at my University. There is a very friendly enviroment between the teacher, student and the patient. This I admired because it creates a good learning environment for the students. The aspect of communication was very much stressed for the students to know that communication between a doctor and a patient is very important. 

The number of students per lecturer is small and managable, this allows better learning and participation by all the students. I think this is possible because of the large number of lecturers which is not the case at my university. The number of lecturers is small and therefore we always have big groups to moderate and that does non give every one chance to participate. Even the lecturer is not able to assess well the learnig ability of all the students so as to devise ways of improving.

The examination is comprehensive like at our University. Un like at our univesity, communication is examined and proffessional patients are invited which i think is very good practice. Such modalities are in their infancy at our university.

Teaching hours

For the first 2 weeks I had slightly over 10 teaching hours per week with about 60% of the hours on seminars and 40% bedside teaching, after that the students had their exams and i did not see them again. 

However for all the weeks I have participated in the early morning academic session though conducted in Swedish and for each of the working days I have participated in the operative surgery learning sessions in theatre for long hours everyday with fellow lecturers, consultants and postgraduate students.

I was also given opportunities to give power point presentations about interesting topics like: managing clubfoot using the Ponseti method, Musculoskeletal services in Uganda and my experience with the Illizarov external fixator in management of long bone defects.