"Hei hei" to our
family and friends!
Today
we have said goodbye to our family and friends. We are starting a new
experience in Tampere (Finland). We are going to stay 3 months meeting new
people and learning the health care and culture of this country.
It
has been hard to say goodbye to those who we love but we know that this
experience will change our life, we will grow up and have so much fun.
Because of that we won’t remember those who we have left behind...
Orientation starts!
Today we have met our coordinator Marika Kyllönen. She has given to us some information about Tampere and what
we have to do while being here. But the most important is that we have had the
first contact with our Erasmus mates.
Health care and
social service systems of Finland
Today
we had the chance to meet our nursing teachers Sanna Laiho and Elina Botha. They introduced us the exchange programme. It has been a
very interesting day because we didn’t just talk about Finland; we also have
shared information about the health systems from the home countries of our
class mates. Also
today we had met the senior nursing students and they have made us a tour
around TAMK, so we won’t get lost during our exchange programme.
Medication
calculation exam and clinical skills
Today
we had an exam. We were a little
nervous, but then we realised that we could get a good qualification because we
had made this before. The coolest part is that we were in a class where we
found an ambulance! After
that, we went to practice some clinical skills and we discovered that there were
some differences between Finland and our home countries.
Multicultural nursing care and Tampere city tour
Today we had the first contact with the
students of the first year nursing degree. Elisa Airikkala gave us a lecture in multicultural nursing. We had to explain three things about
us and then show to each other how the birds sing in our countries. It was very
curious because the sings were very different in each country. After that, we
made some groups of 5 persons each one and then we perform three cases. These
cases were based on health typical situation but we couldn’t speak in English,
so we had to communicate with each other using drama.
In the afternoon, the senior students took
us for a tour around Tampere. It was great because we had the chance to
go to Hotel Torni to have a coffee, the views were awesome! After that, we
went to
Vapriikki (Tampere’s museum). We have seen the ice age animals, some
precious stones,
strange animals, the
history of Tampere…
Karaoke night
The
classes are not the only unique things that we do with our class mates. We also
have some fun after the university. We went to a karaoke and we sang some songs
together like Mamma mia! There were Finnish people in the karaoke, so we had a good
time hearing them singing in ‘’suomea’’.
Seminar day
Today
we have shown our patriotic feelings and how proud we are about our countries.
We have presented the most typical things of each country to the class mates, and
some Finns students. Also they show us some typical food, expressions,
costumes, famous places, sports … We have learnt a lot from them!!!
Northern lights!
After few days of searching the northern
lights, we had the chance to see them. What a beautiful phenomenon! At last, it
was one of the most important reasons why we have chosen Finland as a
destination for our Erasmus.
First aid and
ergonomic skills
Today
we have practiced our ergonomics with Liisa Mannisenmäki and first aid skills with Tuija Rasku. We have practiced it in
our home country university, but the chance to practice it with the
physiotherapy students was good because they have given to us some tips to
improve it.
Get ready for
practical placements!
Today
was the last day of our orientation week. We have made groups of exchange
students and Finns students. The objective of that was working together to build
a tower using spaghettis, tape, a marshmallow and thread. It was a great
time! In the afternoon we went to see our placements with the senior students. They have
shown us, where to take the clothes, where to change, and everything, so on
Monday we know where to go and move around the hospital.
We
want to thank the teachers and coordinators for these two orientation weeks. We have
learned a lot about different issues around from different countries. We know that
they have spent a lot of hours to prepare the classes and give us quality education.
What a night at Union disco!
Tonight we have gone to a discotheque
called Union. There was a party of Erasmus students.
After that, we saw how the love was in the
air!
Authors:
Nursing students Elisabet Ferrando Sanchez and Georgina Ros Brasó from Spain
