My colleague and i arrived in Sweden on the 9th of April 2017 a day prior to the introduction day. We had been encouraged to arrive earlier before classes start to give us adequate time so as to meet the international and course coordinators who orient you into the program. I loved the fact that while in Uganda we had been contacted by a student from KI who was working with the pick up service. She picked us promptly from Alranda airport and brought us to Jagargatan. The introduction day was amazing we started with a nice hot cup of coffee then brief specific information was passed on both printed and through power-point. Later on as we had a tour around the facility(Sodersjuhkuset) we were introduced to all relevant various authorities. Everyone seemed so welcoming and thrilled by our presence, i quickly forget am in a completely new environment. I never got a chance to go to the student health center but i would have loved too.
Trying some dreeses and exploring Singapores culture
Acquiring accommodation was quite shift and easy. I was informed to apply online for accommodation from KI Housing AB and the link was noted in my acceptance letter. It involved me first creating an account with KI Housing AB followed by applying. I had also been cautioned to apply in time by the international coordinator at KI since there was verse competition from numerous students. The application form included filling in 4-6 places of choice. Luckily enough i was offered my first choice Jagargatan which was actually the cheapest among all my choices. I later received my rental contract; details on how and where to pick my keys; how to make the online payment, this made me avoid costs on unnecessary movements. Otherwise what would have been more comfortable than that.The cost is actually expensive for any Ugandan i should say since its a developing country compared to Sweden that has a stable well established economy.But i was prepared to spend more than am used to starting from the transport card. Though the standard was to my liking: my room was spacious and fully furnished; we shared the kitchen, living-room, shower and washrooms as a floor. This arrangement somehow made us relate with the different students on the floor and promoted a great level of team work. I was required to clean my own room though the shared places on the floor were cleaned regularly by an employee of KI Housing.There was full time efficient WIFI, the neighborhood was quiet and it made my studying swift. Not to forget there was this beautiful lake with a breath taking ambiance nearby that had a lovely shores and outside Jim next to it. I never hesitated to take a walk there on a sunny day to take my mind off after along day.Ultimately it was a bit costly but a worth while experience.
There were several social activities organized for exchange students but i didn't participate in those particularly though i was involved in several others . These included the mingle of both medical students and doctors that occurred at the Rackarbacken a restaurant at Sodersjukhuset. I managed to interact with exchange students from different parts of the world as well as those from KI. I also got a chance to tour various historical places in Stockholm on the 29th of April because of the free entrance to all of them on that day , its sort of a Swedish tradition. The experience was fascinating and exciting with the view of the Royal palace ,concert hall,city hall, opera.among others. You could actually get a taste of the true diverse culture and history of Stockholm and Sweden. I also happened to attend the Valborg, a Swedish event that marks the beginning of spring, celebrations occur in different cities normally including bonfire, choral singing and a speech to honor the arrival of spring. There was a form of unity created among people in the country with all these activities. I was lucky because i made a number of Swedish friends and they were the ones actually inviting me to all these events. There was also a Facebook group that was created by students on my floor in Jagargatan which always shared information about ongoing activities for exchange students. Generally i enjoyed every moment with very occupied weekends.
Have always been curious about whats out there .what other people are doing in similar fields and how. Upon reading about the universities that had been short listed for exchange, i noticed Karolinska Institute was among the largest and most prestigious Medical universities in the world and the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institute awards the Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine. Its ranked 5th in Europe as well 11th in the world in the field of clinical medicine. The exchange information was extremely adequate i should say, you only had to visit your email regularly and follow each instruction in detail. A few times information was provided through box mail or verbally. The exchange coordinators both at K.I and Makerere University were eager to help, quite friendly and easy to approach made things easier for us exchange students. I never hesitated to ask questions even though some were often basic but they were always kind and extremely resourceful.I was required to screen for MRSA and treat if need be and yellow fever vaccination was required as a prerequisite at Entebbe airport in Uganda.
ELA005 : Internal Medicine 1
While at Sodersjukhuset Hospital i rotated on emergency cardiology,emergency medicine, cardiology wards,neurology wards,gastroenterology ward and the high dependency units. We had over four seminars that involved teaching us on various conditions in internal medicine using numerous patient case scenarios. They also taught my colleague from Uganda a great deal of electrocardiograms involving all kinds of cardiology cases, my knowledge plus skills were enriched since back at home we study in a low resource setting ,hardly are we exposed as undergraduates to that much of ECGs. I rotated in over 8 different sections of internal medicine at the hospital, that meant i had a lot to learn in a short time but an extremely diverse exposure. Each section welcomed me with something new and thrilling, i saw various presentations of the same cases , how to approach them, some conditions had never seen before , modes of management that had only read in books ( Cardio-version,angiography,pacemaker placement), gladly there was a polite supervisor as well as his colleagues explaining every step along the way and this atleast helped me cope quickly. I also had a chance to participate in doing acardioversion myself and taking arterial blood samples.This course was very important to my degree and my career as a whole because it showed with practice beyond the sheltered classroom walls. I was examined considering a case write up and my attendance plus behavior on ward, i thought that was more practical and i loved it.The high level of supervising students and one student per supervisor makes learning effective on ward and should be further promoted. They should increase on the no of seminars ,i would also advocate if there is apossibilty of the patients history to be read in English too, that was a limiting factor in my opinion.
I had a very lovely experience , my knowledge was completely refined, this has changed me immensely. It was an opportunity to experience another education system, bring fresh ideas, broaden my scope on what i really want to achieve in my career and shaped me into a self driven ambitious person. It has expanded my network and opened up doors for future collaboration. In my view the arrangement was almost perfect may be i needed more time since there was a lot to learn.
I didn't participate in any Swedish language course since the time of my exchange was too short to enable me to do so. However they were several classes offered and i knew of other exchange students in Jagargatan who were part of them. I managed to learn just a few words during my stay like tack, god morgon, hejsan among others.
As a foreign student at k.I to be given the opportunity to experience yet another culture,another education system, another perspective of life, its such a great way to grow and learn quickly.I only rotated in internal medicine for a month, it brought new and fresh approaches in my career and personal life. The study environment is very calm, comfortable but at the same time too educative.Its actually different back at home may be i could attribute it to the very high patient numbers for each medical personnel as compared to Sweden. The teachers and supervisors were available, devoted and approachable this made studying and relating at the hospital easy. I was in several departments of internal medicine including; cardiology, neurology, pulmnology,gastroenterology and emergency medicine. Per week i had two supervisors who really endeavored to teach me and help relate with patients especially when it came to translating from Swedish.In Uganda it would be almost impossible to find one student per supervisor ,so i made sure i utilized my opportunity so i asked questions whenever.The point that humbled me is when one of the specialists offered to bring me a cup of coffee, its so different hear there is a sense of equality despite who you are. I didn't find so much hindrances when handling patients except many preferred speaking Swedish in spite knowing English. They always consented and let me examine them, attend as well participate in procedures performed on them(angiography,placement of a pacemaker,cardio-version). I found most patients friendly.I had a few seminars but many were patient presentation based and management. The seminars were usually very exhaustive in information and helped me vividly in expanding my knowledge especially on electrocardiograms. I think that similar to what happens at Makerere.
Students studying out-doors at U-Town