The Swedish study environment aids a lot in giving students resources and equipment needed to improve in their studies. I was impressed by the training ward for health professionals. I believe that every University should have such a ward as it would help students to gain independence and take decision on their own accord. The library is full of resources and study rooms which are great for group work! I think all in all the environment is very condusive to learning!!
Lecturers and supervisors alike all seem to come down to the students level. They do not intimidate students or, in the case of supervisors, leave them out on the ward. Patients were all very nice towards students and I never had any problems to carry out procedures on patients. All were very nice about it and gave me a lot of encouragement and praise which was very nive to hear!
Theory is definately applied to pracitce in Sweden and most stick to what was learnt in theory. People in Sweden stick to the rules which was very apparent in the wards. People did not tend to take shortcuts or slack in their work. Most things were done by-the-book, as it should be after all! In Malta people lack discipline which is apparent at hospitals. Rules are taken as seriuosly which has its consequences on patients and healthcare workers. I think that Malta has a long way to go to achieve the high levels of care in Sweden, but we're slowly getting there. From my experience I can take a little back to Malta and apply it to practice. Hopefully just a tiny effort from my part may help to achieve a slight difference. I hope that one day we will achieve what Sweden has achieved, but it will be hard to change people's attitudes.