Arriving in Sweden was easy for me because I had already been here and had some contacts. I didn't attend the  KI introduction day because I arrived at a different time. It was easy to get MRSA tests done at the student health centre. However there was a misunderstanding with my clinical superviser... I was waiting for an email with arrangements for the course, where to go, etc (I already had an email from the next course that was due to start in 2 months). When I still didn't have any instructions I managed to call him on the day I started. Then I discovered that I was the only exchange student on the infectious diseases course, and somewhat of a novelty! This was good in some ways, because nobody was tired of students. But some pre-organisation would have been appreciated.

I lived with my partner in his apartment. The standard of housing is very high here, and apartments are maintained at a comfortable temperature even when its -20 degrees outside!

I didn't join any organisations for exchange students. I met some Swedish students on both rotations. I think they're really friendly but the culture is also quite reserved so it would take an extra effort to make friends. It was great to do a clinical rotation with other exchange students.

I decided to go on exchange because at medical school in New Zealand we only get one chance to go overseas to study, for 3 months in the final year. I chose Sweden because my partner is Swedish, and through searching online found that KI is a big medical university with a well organised exchange program. I found the KI website a bit difficult to navigate though. I couldn't find any information about the clinical rotations besides their titles! So I just picked things that seemed like they might be interesting, and crossed my fingers. The exchange coordinator was very friendly and waited for my application even though the mail was delayed. But I would have liked some more information about when I would be approved for exchange, because it took a few months and flights need to be booked early from my part of the world because they're quite expensive! I would also have appreciated some more information before I arrived on Swedish language courses (eg. dates), as I later discovered that the courses KI organises didn't run at the end of the year, and by that time some other courses at a different university were booked out.

I had a great time at KI, and found most people to be very helpful and friendly. I would have preferred more information about the courses (expectations, hours, assessments) a few weeks before they started though. Also, in retrospect maybe I should have joined some student organisations. I'd recommend KI to anyone interested in highly developed medicine & surgery or research.

Most patients (especially younger ones) speak English, and some of them will give the history in English, especially if you introduce yourself before they have seen the doctor. I already knew some basic Swedish when I arrived, which is definitely an advantage. Unfortunately there wasn't a Studiefrämjandet Swedish course on when I arrived, and the next one started too late. Magdalena Palmqvist helped me with this, and I ended up booking a course with Folkuniversitet. I recommend this university but I think its best to talk to the exchange coordinator before making any decisions.