A student's view
Read what Lorena from Valencia has to say about her exchange to OUC
MY SHORT EXPERIENCE IN OSLO
When I came to Oslo I did not know any Norwegian, also my level of English was not very good.
The beginning was a bit challenging, mostly because I could not communicate with the people, the culture and the habits were different, and the Norwegian educational method was different from the Spanish method.
The first eight weeks I was here, I had a project about “How to prevent the birth anxiety” with 9 Norwegian nursing students. It was the first time I had taken part in a group project, since the Spanish educational method places more importance on the exam than on project work.
I was confused and frustrated at times during that period, because I couldn’t understand the aim of the work and the way of working. Finally, with the help of the girls of my group and of my tutor, I understood and I learned a new way of working that in my opinion is a very efficient method for learning new skills.
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That was followed by a period of 5 weeks of clinical practical in Ocular surgery at Ullevål hospital. Ullevål is the biggest hospital in Norway. I was thinking that it was going to be very difficult to connect with the professionals in this area as well as with the patients, mostly because I was speaking different language and I could not report in Norwegian.
Luckily, the people at the hospital treated me like a friend and just like any other nurse. They taught me how the job was done, the skills and kinds of intervention that were used, they even taught me basic Norwegian to be able to communicate with the patients. I had a nice rapport with the professionals in this area. I was happy about this because in Spain the relationship between students and health professionals is not very good. Often you feel like as an inconvenience for them.
In conclusion, I would like to advise all nursing students who have the opportunity to have a period of practice, to do it in Oslo. It makes you learn new skills for your career and gives you the possibility to use different approaches to your work.