Exchange report - incoming teachers
Home university: University of Malawi
Study programme: Midwifery
Exchange programme: Linnaeus-Palme
Semester: Spring semester 2017/2018
Duration: 21
Name: Martha Kamanga
Email address: marthakamanga@kcn.unima.mw

Accommendation

My accommodation was very good. I lived in an apartment at Jargagatan 20 which was of good standard. All information about accommodation was given to me prior to my departure and this was very useful for settling down. I never faced any challenges apart from the construction work that was ongoing during my period of stay which made the building not easily accessible

Language and Culture

The teaching was conducted in English and there were no major barriers.The Swedish culture is friendly and most people were very willing despite language barriers in some cases. There were a lot of similarities in the cultures especially on the value for human life. I felt at home in Sweden as most people were lovely

Leisure time

We visited some peoples homes and had dinner together which was very relaxing. In addition, we had a guided trip  to the Museum where we saw a ship that sank some years ago with soldiers, we also took our time to see some big ships like Cinderella - a great experience since we don't have such big ships in our country. We also spent sometime going through the big malls and watch several activities and peoples interactions. 

Miscellaneous

Overall, the teacher exchange was a great experience, given another chance, I would definitely go again!

Other activities

Hospital visits were enriching. We made several research contacts and discussed several options like the skin to skin Gulu, infertility projects, Doula projects and collaborations on IMPACT project that targets maternal and newborn health

Preparation

I get to know the opportunity to go on teacher exchange through a visiting scholar from Karolinska and through other  Malawian Lecturers who previously visited the Institute. I made several preparations before the visit such as Visa application, learning about the weather, writing objectives for the visit and writing teaching notes for a global course. In addition, there were other preparations for accomodation and other logistics regarding the stay in Sweden

Reflections

This teacher exchange program was a perfect opportunity to share ideas and knowledge, as well as learn about educational practices from  a different country. It has changed my thinking on the way I look at things and has restored my lost hope in care provision that yield positive outcomes. Definitely, the exchange visit will change my way of relating with students and patients so that I instill hope in their lives. All about the exchange visit was great - the organization, reception, teaching experience, visits to different places including the hospital and many more. The only setback was the winter weather which was limiting to accomplish some planned activities.

Teaching

I was involved in a classroom teaching in a global health course for first year midwifery students. This was a great experience and opportunity to talk about the similarities and differences experienced by the low/medium versus high income settings. The learning modalities were not very different as it involved a lot of discussions and comparisons to understand the different settings. It was an enriching experience in such a way that both sides were able to learn from each other. 

Hospital visits was another learning modality in the sense that the settings were very different. I learnt a lot in terms of organization of hospital units, logistics management, patient care and management, family centered care, roles of midwives, midwifery led models of care and many more. The hospital environment was very good compared to the one in my country which is greatly affected by congestion with sick people, lack of resources both human and material resources, essential equipment and supplies including lack of essential medications. Throughout my stay, I never witnessed patient suffering or deaths which I witness in the country where I come from, a low resource setting. This gave me hope that one day things might change in my country, where the unnecessary suffering of innocent people will be alleviated through life saving measures that target unnecessary preventable deaths

In the hospital setting, handling of emergency cases was very much appreciated. There was team work where midwives and other clinicians were very united in saving lives. When need arises, everyone was willing to help to save life

I also attended several educational seminars for example the release of skin to skin Gulu Regional Referal Hospital film and the Educational Congress where a lot of lecture - discussions took place and this was similar to how seminars and conferences are conducted in the country where I come from

Teaching hours

6 hours was dedicated to the Global Heath Course
5 hours to lessons/seminars
4 working days were for hospital visits
2 working days for the educational congress
5 working days for planning activities through meetings with course coordinators
5 working days for discussing research activities at Karolinska institute and planning research activies
3 hours for an educational visit at the museum