Exchange report - incoming students
Home university: La Trobe University
Study programme: Midwifery
Exchange programme: INK
Semester: Autumn semester 2015/2016

Arrival and registration

My arrival day was very easy and straight forward. I arrived in Stockholm very late the night before but still had no trouble finding the campus and where to go. The staff who greeted me were very welcoming and answered all questions. They also walked us to the health centre to have the compulsory MRSA testing. The contact with the student health centre was easy to arrange as no appointment was necessary...... although it was not well advertised that the SHC was open only specific days at each campus so I probably wouldn't have known this if I hadn't emailed prior to confirm.

Acommendation

I stayed in student accommodation at Jagargatan 20. It was an absolutely wonderful experience! I met many wonderful students from around the world and made friends instantly. The housing itself was basic but clean, comfortable and very cheap compared to most housing in Stockholm and any maintenance requests etc. were always responded to immediately.


The accommodation was linked  via an underground tunnel to the hospital I was working in as a student and took only a few minutes to get to work in the morning. It was such a great way to meet friends who I would then travel with later.

Leisure time and social activities

I was involved in many social activities and met many Swedish friends- although I feel this was more through my student accommodation than KI. This may be due to the fact I was in Sweden for only 5 weeks, was not required to attend lectures at the university and did not arrive during international orientation etc. I was however, provided with a website I could access to meet other international students, however due to the social activities and support I received at my student accommodation I found it unnecessary.

Pre-departure

Going on exchange was an easy decision for me as I wanted to travel and experience midwifery from a global perspective. In particular, I wished to visit Sweden for its fantastic reputation for family centred care and father involvement during the labour and birth process.


I decided to visit KI due to their leading role in medical and midwifery research in which many of the studies I have sourced throughout my course were done at KI. KI also offered a fantastic short exchange midwifery program which I felt would significantly contribute to my professional practice.


The exchange information was comprehensive and easy to understand. I was required to submit proof of vaccinations and also have MRSA screening prior to starting placement at the KI student health centre. This was very easy to organise and didn't take long.

Courses during the exchange period

2BM009 : Midwifery lead pregnancy, labour and postpartum care
This was a fantastic course. The examination format was a power presentation to KI and clinical staff comparing the difference between midwifery care in Sweden and Australia. This was interesting and fun to present. It was a high quality program which allowed me to get maximum benefit and experience from the clinical setting. I enjoyed working with the same midwife every day as this allowed us to be comfortable working together and knowing each others skill level. What I learned was very relevant and will be used in my clinical practice when I return to my home country. The teaching and supervision was excellent with all KI staff and hospital staff being friendly, approachable and knowledgeable. The only way this could have been improved is by receiving details and rosters earlier so we could have prepared by revising our notes (as I didn't know if I would be in antenatal, birth suite or postnatal until starting).

Summary

Overall, I had a wonderful time on exchange and would definitely recommend exchange at KI to other students. The only thing that could have been arranged differently is I had to come to the university on two occasions, my first day in Stockholm to meet my course academics and the second day to meet the international coordinator and receive the international student pack with student ID etc. It would have been better if we could have simply been given the international pack by the academic staff on the first day, as there was no real reason to meet in person when we could have got our student cards done on the same day and saved 2 hours travelling the next day.

Language and Culture

N/A- As my program was a short exchange program of only 5 weeks I did not participate in any Swedish language courses

Studies in general

My contact time at KI was very limited because my short exchange program was predominantly hospital based but in my short contact with KI the workshops seemed very similar to Australia. There were lots of places to study throughout the university and the relationship between student/teacher/patient was very strong. Lecturers were engaging and always happy to answer questions and provided very hands on education, supported by the necessary theory. I learnt about managing obstetric emergencies for example shoulder dystocia and ventouse extraction.   The workshops were very similar to my home university and I found it a very productive learning environment.