Work, rest, and rainbows

Dag Tretten!

Oh, what a time! Since the last time we spoke we have done so much. We took an amazing trip to Aurland Fjords, completed our clinical rotation at the elder care center, and enjoyed rest and relaxation at the Oslo Spa. My favorite part was spending time in the mountains, recharging and resting. I also loved speaking with the residents of the elder care facility, many of them were so excited to practice English and tell their stories. I spent my time listening the life stories of a diplomat, old professor, distinguished nurse of 40 years, poet and author, as well as the grandson of a famous Norwegian classical composer. Their stories were so rich with purpose, community, and family. There were several differences between how we perform elder care in the US versus the Norwegian system. There were differences in universal precautions compared to the US.  In the US we often wear gloves for vital sign and touching patients even just to touch their hands. This differed in Norway as one would not wear gloves for human touch.  Nursing Students also have a  great deal of autonomy and check in with experienced nurses periodically throughout the day. Norwegian nursing schools are continually improving education on nursing assessment and skills (SDG #4).

Today most of our time was spent finalizing our community project, souvenir shopping, and exploring more of the city. While exploring the city I noticed a muted preparation for P.R.I.D.E. which I was told for this society is progression. Speaking with students from Norway I was told in the past people were very private about their lives and often shied away from conversations about sexual orientation. In recent years this has moved more to the forefront of society (SDG #10). 🌈

Until next time!

XOXO Norway

• Hallo from Norway!

Day seks (six)!

This has been my first opportunity to travel this far and so far, this trip has been amazing. I have had the opportunity to meet some wonderful, thoughtful Norwegian students. They have been so willing to share their experiences, culture, and lifestyle with me, no question has gone unanswered. I have had the opportunity to learn about social programs that fuse nursing and social work on a national level in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. These countries have been able to significantly reduce homelessness through housing programs and improve the safety of substance use by creating supply programs and places people can use substances under nurse supervision.

So far this week I had the opportunity to speak about marginalized communities in the US as well as participate on a panel of international professors and students. I bought new shoes as mine were too big, which is not what you want to do when you are out of the country, it was also our wellness goal for the day. I saw the best view from the roof top terrace at Lovisenberg Diakonale Sykehus (the Norway nursing school). We also had the opportunity to visit the sculpture park with depicted the entire continuum from life to death and living life together as a community in Norway.

Today the focus was on community and wellness. We walked from West to East Oslo and observed the differences in each community as we walked. In many ways the differences in these communities were night and day. The west consisted of a more affluent area composed of mostly Norwegian individuals while the East was a poorer heavily mixed community of Norwegians and immigrants from around the world. However, both these communities both showed the importance of family and gender equality as the central idea in Norwegian society. Both parents, female and male spent equal time, energy, and effort caring for children and no difference in the treatment of genders was noted (SDG # 5). During the last part of the day our instructor or as affectionally called “the moms” and “momma” took us to the Munch Museum and to dinner where we ate reindeer pizza. This was one of the first chances we have had for group downtime, and it made such a difference in our mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing (SDG #3).

Until next time.

XOXO Norway