The arrival arrangements went without incident.

The housing was simple, but everything I needed.  My location at Jagargatan 20 was especially convenient given that my rotation was at Sodersjukhuset.

My rotation took place after the KI students went on break.  I did not make any Swedish friends, other than good relationships with those I worked with.  Fortunately, I traveled here with my fiance, and we were able to explore Stockholm and Sweden together.

I chose to go on exchange because I love to travel and explore new areas of the world.  I specifically chose Karolinska and Sweden because the Swedish health care system is consistently rated as one of the best at the world, both delivering quality and relatively low cost care.  Given the current state of health care in the U.S., particularly the expense, I was especially curious to learn how things are done in Sweden.

I thought everything was great.  Sweden is a beautiful country with a lot of great people.  It was my pleasure to live here for a month and learn about health care in Sweden.

I did not participate.

The study environment was good, and quite a bit more relaxed atmosphere than back at home.  All the physicians I had contact with were great teachers and also helpful at describing how things are done in the Swedish health care system.  The only barrier was language.  At home, I typically get assigned my own patients to care for, which provides many more learning opportunities and really helps me get involved.  However, given the fact that I do not speak Swedish, this was unavoidable.