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Today was our last official day in Oslo, Norway. It was a bittersweet ending to a great and unforgettable experience. We started off the day by gathering as a group in a coffee shop near the hotel called Joe and the Juice for one last morning cup of coffee. While we ate, we took the time to reflect on how much we have learned during our trip abroad. We also talked about how thankful we are for the relationships we have built with the Norwegian students. We are already planning a time to see them again soon! These past two weeks flew by so quickly and we are not ready to leave yet. After we had some caffeine in our system, we traveled to Lovisenberg for one last assignment.  

Today we presented our community health projects. Each group chose a healthcare topic of concern within a community and compared how the issues are addressed in the U.S. and Norway. Some of the healthcare topics discussed during the presentation surrounded mental health of veterans, homelessness, food insecurity, HIV/AIDS, sexual education in schools, and addiction. Groups were very creative with their presentation style as many created short videos or podcasts to present their healthcare topic. Everyone did a fantastic job, and they were all very entertaining to watch! I feel that I gained a better understanding of healthcare issues in various communities between the U.S and Norway. This correlated with sustainable development goal #4 involving quality education. This project presentation provided quality education by promoting lifelong learning opportunities. After the presentations, we all joined the Norwegian students for dinner and karaoke. It was a great way to end the trip with our new friends from Norway. The night was full of emotions, some happy and some sad, but we are all grateful for this experience.

We will all cherish the memories that we have created during this trip abroad as well as the relationships we have built. It was interesting to learn about the healthcare system of Norway and how it differs from aspects of U.S healthcare. As future nurse practitioners, we plan to integrate the knowledge gained from this experience into our everyday practice. 

Today we started off the morning meeting with some of the Nurses who work for “Sykepleie På Hjul” or “Nurses on Wheels”. They travel by van and provide active addicts with clean supplies for using, while focusing on damage reduction. This morning, we explored the van they drive around in, which carries all of their supplies and materials required to help this population. A major health concern for this population is infection, so these nurses provide sterile equipment such as needles, syringes, filters, and pipes for them to use. They also provide wound care for those that need it and can make referrals to hospitals for those that need more acute care. Additionally, they provide a safe place for them to dispose of their needles after use. The nurses estimate they get back 70% of the needles they give out. It was obvious these nurses were passionate about what they do and care for those they take care of. They discussed with us how this population receives a lot of stigma and degrading from most everyone else and they want to make sure they provide a safe, judgment-free space for them to help them with harm reduction. We felt this organization directly correlates to the good health and well-being Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) since they are providing health care services to those who are oftentimes neglected and are actively working on harm reduction for this community. We were so thankful for this opportunity to interact and ask questions with these nurses!

Once we finished learning about the Nurses on wheels outreach, we headed to the Norwegian Folk Museum to learn more about Norway’s cultural history. Here they had multiple exhibits that dated back to the 1500’s. We were able to see traditional folk clothing, art and explore rural homes that used to serve as farmsteads. We also got to learn more about the Sami, who are indigenous people that have a rich history throughout Norway. Once we finished at the museum, we went to explore a local National Park in Oslo known as Dronningberget. We got to see the beautiful scenery outside of the city center and explore the local coastlines.

Education & Social Wellness for All

We had a flexible morning today, so we visited the Deichman Bjørvika Library. One of the 22 public libraries all over Oslo, the Deichman library system was founded in 1785. Located next to the Opera House overlooking the Northern Sea, this library attracts people of all ages. The library offers a great welcoming atmosphere and space for people to study, read, or hang out. I have never seen a library so lively in my life. It felt like being at a shopping mall with an interactive museum vibe. Each genre is purposefully decorated to match its topic. For example, the gardening book section has plants hanging on top, like a museum installation. It was great to see young Norwegians studying or lounging around reading. The library manifests SDG4, ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. 

At 1 p.m., we arrived at Lovisenberg Omsorg+, a local independent nursing home, where we spent our afternoon and evening with the residents. Lovisenberg Omsorg’s trademark is “The Good Day.” Their mission is to offer each resident freedom of choice in everyday life and good interpersonal encounters. We participated in their “eating with friends” program. After having lunch with the residents, we made fresh waffles. “Chefs” Mara and Hannah became experts with the Scandinavian waffle machine. 

After enjoying the waffles and hearing stories from some of the bilingual residents, we all sang Norwegian and American songs. It was a wonderful evening of local tradition and socializing, a testament to the power of community and shared experiences. The opportunity to interact with the Norwegian community was not just recharging but also a step towards promoting SDG goal #3, ensuring well-being is met at all ages.

Today our group ventured to Lovisenberg Omsorg+ for our community health clinical. Omsorg+ is housing for those over age 67 who can mostly manage on their own but feel it is unsafe, impractical or lonely to do so. At Omsorg+, these individuals have their own apartments with various community spaces where they can connect and continue to build relationships. Here they have a program called “eat with friends” where volunteers from the community can come and have dinner with the residents. Today our group participated in this by serving them dinner and keeping them company during the meal. This aligns with health goal #3, ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages, as this program aids in decreasing the health concern of loneliness and social wellness for this particular age group. 

While we were there we noticed a few assistive devices we have not seen used in the US. The first was an assistive device for the stairs pictured above to help them up and down the stairs in a safe and discreet way. This is comparable to the chair lift but allows the person to still have some independence and takes up less space. We also noticed a difference in the walkers they used, they had elbow supports to allow them to stand straight up while walking versus normal walkers where many users become hunched over. Overall we felt they were able to move around better and had much better posture with the use of this type of walker. 

Lastly, we brought an Ohio tradition to Norway, making buckeyes! We explained to them where the candy got its name and how to make them. And then of course we ate the candy when we were done! They were overjoyed by the whole experience and loved the buckeyes! Some asked for seconds and thirds, and even asked to take some back to their room for later! It was such an amazing experience to show them this and see their joy in learning about it.

Nursing in Norway Blog Post for 31.5.24

By: Megan Ginter, Adriana Díaz-Ross, & Mara Walters

Megan: I met with my COIL group this morning to work on our project. We decided to practice a few different dimensions of wellness this morning by sitting on the balcony at Lovisenberg University while collaborating. We enjoyed social wellness by chatting and getting to know each other more during breaks, intellectual wellness by chipping away at our project work and emotional wellness by enjoying the nice weather and view! 

Here’s a picture of my COIL group typing away!

My group includes Hannah, Adriana, Matilde, Nathalie and myself. We’ve really enjoyed each other’s company while working together to research potential improvements to sexual health education in both Norway and the United States.

A view from outside of LDUC

Adriana: When the sun rises at 4:08 a.m. and sets at 10:30 p.m., so does my circadian rhythm. Even though experts recommend getting 7-9 hours of sleep, it is hard to sleep for so long when there is daylight for 18 of the 24 hours of the day. Surprisingly, the city of Oslo usually sleeps until 8 a.m. Most cafes, pharmacies, and supermarkets open at 9 a.m.

Since I naturally wake up between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m., I practice physical wellness to pass the early morning hours. Going for a run around the city is a serene experience. The streets are empty and so quiet that you can easily hear the birds chirping. 

Oslo is a city designed for pedestrians. With its wide sidewalks, multiple street crosswalks, and drivers waiting for you to decide if you are crossing the street, it is easy to see so many people running and biking early around the city. No wonder, according to the SDG index, Norway ranks number six in its performance for SDG3: Good Health and Well-Being. 

Today, on my run, I went by the Royal Palace.

Mara: After we finished our meetings with our COIL project groups, some of us went to a place called Hønse-Lovisas hus, which is a small cafe located in Grünerløkka, a neighborhood of Oslo located along the Akerselva river. The cafe was in an old sawmiller’s house and was built in the 1800s. We each got a rhubarb slush to help fight off the heat, and we sat near the waterfall to practice some Environmental Wellness. After we finished our slushes, we took a walk along the river and enjoyed our time in nature. We even saw a rainbow near a waterfall! There is such an abundance of green space around Oslo and so many unique neighborhoods that sometimes you forget you’re in a large city! 

Later in the evening LDUC hosted a party at the school to celebrate the beginning of Pride Month. The students decorated the cafeteria with pride flags and infographics explaining what each flag represents. The Norwegian students’ promotion of inclusivity is connected to both the dimensions of Social and Emotional Wellness. Furthermore, the students’ and school’s commitment to promoting inclusion of all no matter their gender or sexual identity represents WHO Sustainable Development Goal 10: Reduce Inequalities. We had a blast celebrating the beginning of Pride Month with our Norwegian hosts! 

The LDUC cafeteria decorated for the Pride celebrations

Hannah Hetman-Maiden, Kaytlynn Begley & Olivia Young

Today we traveled to our clinical practice placements at Cathinka Guldberg Senteret, which is one of the main nursing homes here in Oslo, Norway. We each met with our students who explained the placement of patients in nursing homes in Norway. They expressed that there are many patients who are on waitlists for placement and receive at home healthcare while they wait to get beds in their facilities. They prioritize the health and wellness of all Norwegian of citizens regardless of age which embodies the sustainable development goal #3 “Good health and well-being.” This is demonstrated through the access that the aging population at this facility has to a recreation center. Monday through Friday they have designated “gym time” where they host exercise classes for the patients to participate in. They also offer swimming and have days where community members can bring their babies and patients can enjoy the company of these new lives. All of these resources prevent feelings of loneliness and provide patients with a sense of community and a way to socialize with those around them.

After clinical practice we ventured out to a local burger restaurant called “Troy” which came highly recommended by the Norwegian students. We ordered different burgers and shared parmesan fries amongst everyone who joined us. After lunch, we worked on some schoolwork and waited to meet with the COIL students in the United States. Here we had a case study which focused on the topic of homelessness which we later discussed in small groups. After we finished our conversations, we all met to walk to a Sauna which was located right on the water. We learned a traditional Norwegian dive and rotated in and out of the water to the Sauna. We enjoyed our time to build community with the students and continue to foster our relationships!

Alexis Arcuri & Narissa Urciuoli

In clinical practice today in Oslo, Norway, our group of students met with Norwegian students in the morning and interacted with residents of the community and experienced various aspects of the Norwegian healthcare system. With the Norwegian nursing students, we learned the role of the nurse at Cathinka Guldberg Center at Lovisenberg while others learned the role of the homecare nurse and traveled around Oslo meeting residents. We started the day at 8:00 am with coffee and pastries at Kaffebrenneriet. After we had some caffeine and sugar in our system, we took the tram and traveled for about 25 minutes to our clinical location. Once we arrived at our clinical site, we met the Norwegian students that we accompanied for the day and changed into nursing scrubs provided by the facility.

We learned how home care nurses in Norway assist residents with activies of daily living such as ostomy bag changes, wound care, medication administration, and assisting with meal preparation and getting dressed. In Norway, this care provided by the home health care nurse allows residents to receive health care assistance while remaining independent in their home. One interesting aspect of home health care we observed during our experience was the use of a medication dispensing machine which can hold approximately 2 week’s worth of medication for residents living at home and will also dispense scheduled medication throughout the day. This helps reduce the amount of travel required for residents to fill their prescriptions.

If residents do travel to the pharmacy or leave their home to venture out into the community, we noticed the vast amount of accessibility for wheelchair bound individuals. This aligns with Sustainable Development goal #10: Reduced Inequalities. On the buses and trams there are designated areas for people in wheelchairs or using strollers to have space. The doors of the trams and buses all open exactly at curb level so it is easier for a wheelchair or stroller to enter. Every set of steps, for example leading to the grocery store, or inside of a store include a ramp to allow for those on wheels to have easier access.

We are excited to continue exploring Oslo and finding ways in which we can compare our healthcare system in the US to that of Norway!

Nursing in Norway Blog Post for 28.5.24

By: Megan Ginter & Mara Walters

Earlier today we were greeted by the student chaplain, staff, and communal services of LDUC, Dorothea Ziller.  Her role is to support the emotional and mental well-being of the students attending the college. She passed around a bowl of popular Norwegian chocolates called Twists and encouraged us to try some. We selected a variety to try and was surprised to learn that many of them are similar to chocolates we have in the United States. For example, the chocolate with the red wrapper, called Daim, was a chocolate covered toffee that was almost identical to a Heath bar, and I think it was my favorite!

Later this evening we met the Norwegian COIL students for dinner at Heim, a gastropub located near LDUC. The Norwegian students explained that this restaurant is “cozy and very Norwegian” due to the fact that it is a great place to socialize with friends while eating delicious food. Most of us from OSU ordered fish and chips which, while not a “traditionally Norwegian” dish, were fantastic due to the prevalence of cod fishing in the country. We had an excellent night sharing dinner and conversation with our new Norwegian friends, but now we are off to get some rest before our day of clinical placement tomorrow!

Outside of class and clinical placement, we have enjoyed experiencing and partaking in local sustainability efforts. We learned about the “Good to Go”, an app that seeks to decrease food waste, through a TikTok video. Good to Go provides leftover food from local restaurants at the end of each day (near closing hours) for a low cost. The food given is typically fresh but did not sell during business hours. Instead of throwing away leftover food, Good to Go sells it, ultimately reducing waste and promoting sustainability. A a student, I was able to purchase a “Surprise Bag” (item specifics are not listed; what you get is quite literally a surprise) from Backstube Frogner. For NOK 39.00 (approximately $3.50), There were 11 pastries! This would have likely cost over $50 USD if bought at the original price and during store hours. Some of the bakery items included a parmesan croissant, pain au chocolat, a pretzel and a blueberry twist bread. The app has many restaurant options for both bakery items and meals. We wish Good to Go was used in Columbus! This concept supports Healthy People 2030 Goal 11 (sustainable cities and communities) by decreasing food wastage and providing fresh food for a low cost.

Here’s a picture of my Surprise Bag! Yes, I am using the second bed in my room as a table and my reusable grocery bag as a plate.

Here is also one of the OSU abroad students Kaytlynn. The OSU travel abroad students have really enjoyed the coffee in Oslo! It tastes different from what we have at home – it’s more smooth, creamy and tastes less artificial. The Norwegian students have given us many recommendations for local coffee shops. The coffee pictured is from Pust.

Nursing in Norway Blog Post for 27.5.24

By: Cortney Cain & Olivia Young

Today was our first day of class at the Lovisenberg Diakonale Høgskole in Oslo, Norway. Our group of nine students met with our teachers in front of our hotel in the am, and we walked to the campus as a group. When we arrived, we quickly discussed what the day’s events would entail, and then joined the Norwegian students for class. It was here that we learned that the Norwegian version of Community Health, known as Urban Health, is an elective course that students take only if they are interested. The two professors for this course described what it would look like for the Norwegian students and made sure to note our presence during their presentation. Following this, we were able to hear from a key informant speaker, a representative from the Norwegian branch of the Salvation Army, who discussed the importance of knowing one’s own values when providing nursing care to others.

While we discussed plenty about the value of this organization and the nurse in general, we also spent a good amount of time discussing the vulnerable population in Oslo and what they do to help them. Many of those who are homeless and live in poverty are also addicted to drugs, this is a major health concern since the use of illicit drugs and life on the street can lead to other chronic and acute health conditions. They have created two hospitals specifically for this population to receive the proper health care they need. We felt that this relates to SDG #1 Poverty, which also ties in with the health concern. Poverty, addiction, and homelessness are all intertwined and have a complex relationship to each other, it is not uncommon for someone in poverty to be homeless, an addict, or both, which all areas need improvement. The speaker from the Salvation Army gave us a meaningful account of how just because they can be a difficult population to work with does not mean they do not deserve basic healthcare and kindness; it was really moving and inspiring.

After lunch, we had a tour of the Lovisenberg campus from Unni Jenssen Senior Advisor, International Coordinator, and Associate Professor. We saw numerous classrooms, cafeterias, cafes, study spots, the campus library, simulation lab, and finally, a small museum that displayed medical equipment from the 1800s, during which the school was founded. The museum also paid tribute to the university’s founder, the deaconess Cathinka Guldberg, and her impact on expanding health care from beyond the upper middle class to other members of the community during her lifetime. Following the tour, we collaborated with our Norwegian peers on our community assessment project groups, where we discussed numerous differences between the United States and Norway, including, but not limited to: homelessness, healthcare, accessibility to medical services and medication, college tuition, education quality, and more. We concluded our time on Lovisenberg campus by enjoying a social event with the Norwegian students that included a fun quiz game and pizza.

Windshield Survey Activity

What is that smell? I wonder. 

Walking around Oslo’s downtown, I noticed the air smelled cleaner than expected. I associate city living with smog and tobacco smells. 

However, for Norwegians, this is not a surprise. 

Norway’s Climate Action Plan for 2021-2030 is a testament to the country’s unwavering commitment to the Paris Agreement and SDG 13 on climate action. By 2030, Norway aims to slash its non-ETS emissions by 40% compared to 2005 levels. To achieve this ambitious goal, the Norwegian government has devised a comprehensive set of economic policies that not only incentivize private businesses but also enhance the welfare of its citizens, all while significantly reducing emissions (Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment, 2021). The Oslo Tram, vital for commuters since 1875, is a fully electric public transportation system with a ridership of about 132,000 (Wikipedia Contributors, 2024).

It is also expected to see people riding their bikes or using electric scooters. Bikers, vehicles, and pedestrians shared the road. Transportation injuries and fatalities used to be frequent in the city. However, in 2015, the city committed to achieving zero pedestrian and biking fatalities by 2030 (Hartmann, 2020). To achieve this objective, the city government set a goal to reduce car traffic by 33% by the same year, remove regular street parking in the city center, and close all through traffic streets. Today, one-lane streets allow cars in one direction, and in streets that used to have three or four lanes, the city reduced the number of lanes by installing bus and bike lanes (Hartmann, 2020). 

Distracted by the smell of spring flowers, I stepped on to cross the street. I missed looking before crossing, and a biker slammed on the brakes. I apologize profusely. The biker smiles at me and continues up the hill. Taken back by the biker’s kind reaction, I think to myself: It must be the smell of clean air.