I did not have an introduction day upon arrival as was not completing a full time course and therefore did not arrive at the start of the semester. This was a shame as it meant I did not know where things were on the campus, and found it very difficult getting my I.D. card sorted and working out where there were public computers available. The student health centre was easy to locate and the nurses were very friendly. I was told to pick up my key for my accommodation from a small box inside the library doors as it was after-hours. This was easy to do, however I had not been provided with a map of how to get to my accommodation from KI which made it very difficult, especially as I had all my luggage with me. Luckily, a passing student was able to help me and kindly drew me a map and explained which buses and metro to take to get to the accommodation. I think that this could be improved on for future students.
I applied for accommodation throughout the University Accommodation Center, and was accepted at Strix. I found the accommodation to be very satisfactory. It was similar in price to what I pay in New Zealand, which surprised me as I had thought it would be more expensive. My room was large, had a bed, wardrobe, desk, chair and en-suite shower and toilet. There was a shared kitchen and laundry also available. The accommodation was in bus distance to the hospital, and walking distance to the metro (to get into town), a shopping mall, parks, and a supermarket. There were other exchange student from KI on my floor however, unfortunately, they weren't very sociable and spent most of the time in their bedrooms, which made it difficult to make new friends.
I Köpenhamn finns massa vackra byggnader!
I was only at KI for 4 weeks which made it difficult to participate in a lot of the social events, as many were organised during the time I was not there. I have a friend who lives in Stockholm and so was able to see her often during my stay. I went on the Christmas buffet boat cruise around the archipelago and across to Norway which I enjoyed and met some lovely people.
As a final year medical student studying in New Zealand, we are all required to spend a total of at least 11 weeks studying at another hospital, whether this is in New Zealand or overseas. I have always wanted to travel to Sweden and therefore decided to apply to Karolinska Institutet to carry out a hospital placement at Karolinska Institutet Hospital, as I know that they offer a good exchange programme. In order to apply for the exchange, I was required to be selected by my home University, as they are only allowed to send two students a year to KI. Once accepted by my University, I then needed to apply trough the KI website. The KI website provided me with useful information about the exchange, which courses I could participate in, and how to apply. I was not required to have any vaccines before arriving in Sweden, and also did not require a visa to study.
LÄK003 : Gynaecology
At Karolinska, my time was divided between the delivery ward, caesarean theatre, obstetric and gynaecological outpatient clinics, and robotic tumour surgery. During my 4 weeks, I was able to learn and participate in countless vaginal and caesarean deliveries, as well as learn skills such as conducting deliveries, ventouse extraction, labour induction, foetal CTG placement, external cephalic version, internal and external palpation, amniotomy, lactate sampling, colposcopy, cone biopsy, suturing, and foetal ultrasound. This placement allowed me to gain more experience than you can during your 1-day delivery ward placement in 5th year. Experiencing robotic gynaecological tumour surgeries was definitely one of the highlights of this placement as we don’t have it available in New Zealand. Another advantage was that I was the only student there, which meant I was able to participate in everything that I wanted to, rather than having to share with other students. One disadvantage of this placement was, as Sweden is very similar to NZ in terms of healthcare, you do not have the opportunity to deliver babies by yourself (however you may assist and be highly involved), as you would do in a developing country. Secondly, although all the staff and the majority of patients spoke English, many were not comfortable conversing in English and therefore consultations would usually be held in Swedish. Although the doctor would later explain what had been said, this did make it difficult to develop good bedside manner and effective communication with patients. I was not required by my University to complete assignments or assessments, so cannot comment on this. My supervisors were very easy to contact and helpful in solving any issues. The level of teaching I received from the doctors, nurses and midwives was excellent, and they were all very welcoming and friendly. One thing I regret, and think could be improved on, is that I had no contact with the KI medical students, and would have liked to be involved more in their course and activities so it was difficult to meet other the same age as me. It would be good if KI organised for exchange students on clinical rotations to be placed with KI medical students. Overall, however, I had a great time and learnt a lot!
I was only in Stockholm for 4 weeks and, although it was such a short time, had a wonderful time! The application for the exchange was easy, and the accommodation and course were great. I would love to come back to Stockholm and KI in the future on order to spend longer and get to know Stockholm, the Swedish culture, and the Swedish people a lot better!