Exchange report - incoming students
Voldelpark i Amsterdam
Home university: Universidade de Lisboa
Study programme: Dentistry
Exchange programme: Erasmus
Semester: Spring semester 2013/2014
Name: Marina Gameiro Ferreira
Email address: marinagameiro@hotmail.com

Arrival and registration

We couldn't make it to the introduction day but we had a lot of support from the international coordinator and by one host student from Global Friends that showed us KI and helped us with pretty much everything: knowing the school, the pre-clinic, the clinics, doing the KI card, our lockers (and also finding our size). She also went it us to the health centre and the nurse, as everyone there, was very nice and efficient.

We were speechless when we arrived at KI, it's just outstanding. I felt that everything was as it was supposed to be, it's very clean and calm, and you really feel good when you are there.

Acommendation

I found accommodation by KI housing website, and everything was very easy to do, and went really well. 

The location was very good! Right close to the tunnelbana and, being there, you would only take 10 minutes to beautiful Stockholm.

The room itself was very nice and it was also good to have a shared kitchen so we didn't had to be alone all the time. Even better was to share it with friends. Friends that I already had and friends for life that I made there.

Den nya byggnaden där jag bodde tillsammans med men kursare

Leisure time and social activities

We attended to some dinners with Global Friends and at KI and they were very nice, were different nights. We also made Swedish friends and friends from other student residences where we made some dinners as well and of course, with the other ERASMUS students.

People say that Swedish people are very cold and closed and that they don't talk much but that is not, in my point of view, particularly true. I thought the exactly opposite, everyone that I can remember was very nice to me, easy going, and really easy to talk to. And it’s funny because we always have so many things to share, to ask and to answer that we can talk for a long time effortlessly.

The sad thing about exchanging programmes is that there are always some people leaving, but the good thing, is that almost everyone make goodbye parties and ours was certainly one of the best.

Pre-departure

Why ERASMUS?

Every since I found out about ERASMUS and this amazing opportunity of studying abroad I thought that was something that I had to do. And it was a priceless experience! I recommend it for everyone!

Why Sweden?

Actually, our home school doesn't give us many options and as the last Portuguese ERASMUS students said so many good things about everything we thought that Sweden could be a good option. And, of course, because we all know that Dentistry there is top quality.
 

Collecting information...

As I knew the students that had been in KI last year it was very easy to get information about Sweden, KI, the clinic and anything we needed. They were very helpful and gave us many tips. KI and KIHousing websites were very helpful as well. Had all of the information we need and was very easy to read it. I also researched many blogs that showed to be very helpful when it comes to more practical information about what to bring and what to buy before going. We always have that feeling that we are forgetting something so, it's better to be the best informed you can. And make lists! They are essential in this Pre-departure stage. Documents you need, clothes you need, electronics, medicines, and basically everything so you really don't forget anything.
The only thing that I found very hard to research was the metro prices for students. The website is all in Swedish and Google’s translation is not enough for you to understand what you want. At least is not easy.

Special requests

We didn't need any special certificate of vaccines that I can remember of.... Only the MRSA test that we did when we arrived... But it was no big deal :)

One thing I did before going that I think was not essential but still helpful was downloading apps to learn Swedish! It's good if you want to know some basic things before going even though almost everyone speaks English.

Courses during the exchange period

ETL001 : Comprehensive Care - with subject specific courses
In Portugal we always work in pairs and we know that when we graduate we have to be able to work alone because we are not sure if we are going to have an assistant or not, and that is something that cause many Portuguese students some anxiety. We were also like that. Because of that, was a very useful experience being able to work alone at KI and knowing that we can do it. Because of that I know that me and my colleagues are much more secure and we can believe in ourselves - which is something that I know will be with us for life. We had many teachers and every one of them always wanted to help us and to teach us something. In Portugal they also do it, but it’s in a different way. Sometimes we feel that is never enough because they always wanted more so we can get frequently frustrated – even if we have done everything the best we could. We are not used to complements, so it was very nice when we did something good to know that they also find it good. The nurses were also very helpful and nice to us.
ETL002 : Child and Adolescent Dentistry - Odontology
This course was very different from what we do in Portugal first because of the approach they have with the kid - if they say no, you don't do anything else - and also because we always use "kofferdam", even to do fissure blockings, in some cases is much easier and fast doing it without the "kofferdam" but, in others, can be so much difficult to control the saliva and the tongue that you miss it. But overall was a very good experience and I feel that I've learned a lot and I feel that I can treat kids without the stress we usually have here. The teachers were always very helpful and it was extremely good to work with a Swedish student and to learn to write the journal in Swedish.
På pedodonti avdelningen

Summary

 

It's hard to describe how life changing this amazing experience was. The things I’ve learned and the people I’ve met are priceless. I feel that, even though it was only 3 months, I've changed in both personal and professional aspects. It was very good to work in a calm environment and I could see that I can like doing what I do without the stress I’m used to. After my stay at KI I feel more confident to work and to become a dentist.

Language and Culture

I didn't participate in any Swedish course during my exchange period, i just learn somethings in an phone app and later with Swedish friends.
Queens day 30/4

Studies in general


 Studying at KI was one of the most amazing experiences I had since I've started studying Dentistry. I started studying at Brazil because, at the time, I lived there, and then I went to Portugal and continued and will soon finish my studies here.

Maybe studying at KI wouldn't be as good as it was for me if I hadn't been in other places before. One thing I noticed is that KI students are used to a high quality that KI offers, which is very good, and, sometimes, doesn't really appreciate it.

The Swedish study environment is very very different from the one we have in Portugal. But is very similar from the one I had in Brazil, where the teachers are much closer to the students and you are comfortable to ask anything and, most of them, explain things as they really care that you learn it. And it was very good, although very weird at the first times, to be able to call the teacher for their first names and not Dr something. Maybe it doesn't seem like it, because we are used to this formality, but using the first name helps us to feel more comfortable to expose our questions and opinions. 

 

In Portugal our clinic is divided by areas, meaning that in one appointment we can only do Endodontics, in the other, fillings, in the other surgery so we end up having a hard time having a general vision of the patient, or deciding the priorities. Being in Sweden helped me a lot in this area and being able to follow your patient from beginning to end is very interesting. You can really follow the evolution and getting to know them better and create a good relation. This relation with the Swedish patients was very interesting. They ask a lot of questions and was extremely nice one time that in one of the last appointments I gave my patient the protection glasses and said "varsågod" and he answered "tack" without even thinking and when he noticed was very shocked and happy and just said “Wow! You speak Swedish!”

ACTA byggnaden där kliniken är.