STEP: Public Health Perspectives: Finland & Estonia

My project was an education abroad program that introduced global public health and discussed links between public health, educational, social, and economic development with emphasis on Finnish and Estonian societies. There was an on-campus class during the first week of May, and then I traveled to various locations in Finland/Estonia for a total of ten days.

Greetings from Tallinn, Estonia!

Studying abroad in Finland/Estonia was the most liberating experience of my life. It really opened my eyes to other cultures and the way things are done in other countries.  We oftentimes may believe that the United States is number one in almost every category, but that simply is not the case.  I kept a journal on the trip and wrote down important takeaways from every day.  I was amazed at the fact that pretty much everyone there can speak both Finnish/Estonian and English fluently.  It made me feel guilty at times that I can only speak English fluently, because they can transition from one language to another almost seamlessly.  Overall, the trip inspired me to keep learning more about other countries, and I will now be able to interpret certain issues in more of a global context.

As much as I love the United States, we could learn a lot from other countries like Finland and Estonia. In Finland, tuition at universities is free, new mothers are given “baby boxes” which has drastically reduced infant mortality, and both mothers and fathers get one year of paid maternity leave.  Teaching is considered an esteemed profession there.  I visited THL, which is the Finnish equivalent of the Center for Disease Control Agency.  Estonia is a very technologically advanced society, and is where Skype originated from.  I visited e-Estonia and learned about their e-society, which means that they do voting, banking, taxes, healthcare, and more all online.  It would make doctors’ lives easier if the U.S. had a way to have everyone’s health records in one place like Estonia does.  In Estonia, I also toured the medical school at the University of Tartu.  These are just a few of the plethora of things I learned and did.

Perhaps the most impactful and transformational day during my STEP Signature Project was the day my group visited Keuruu High School in Petajavesi, Finland.  This interaction was most transformational for me because I got to converse with the students there, and I learned so much from talking with them.  They begin learning English at a young age, so by the time they get to high school, they are all fluent in both Finnish and English.  With the Finnish education system, high school isn’t mandatory, so the students there actually enjoy going to school and learning.  Also, it seemed like pretty much all of their learning is done in the classroom, so when they go home for the day, they aren’t bogged down with homework/extra assignments.  I am very appreciative of the education I received in the US, but I feel like I was constantly tested to the point where I wasn’t actually learning the material.  Oftentimes, I was just trying to memorize information to do well on the test.  It did not seem like this was the case for the Finnish students I talked to.

My whole group outside Petäjävesi Old Church in Finland.

Another very memorable day during my STEP Signature Project was when my group had a free day in Helsinki.  This day was memorable because it was a national holiday in Finland.  There was a funeral procession in downtown Helsinki for the death of a former president, Mauno Koivisto, who was the first democratic president of Finland.  All of the flags were at half mast, and it was pretty silent outside Helsinki Cathedral as the motorcade went past.  I was amazed at how much this president impacted Finnish people, and it was obvious seeing the respect they had for him.  Finnish people love their country and are just as patriotic as Americans are, and I was humbled to be a part of that.

The relationships with the people in my education abroad program were transformational for me as well.  My group consisted of sixteen people total, and there was only one other male in my group.  Interacting with that many girls constantly forced me to step outside of my comfort zone and be open with them.  I became very close with my group and am hoping to maintain my friendships with people back in Columbus.  Many of them were public health majors participating in the program for their capstone, and I was one of the only neuroscience majors.  Overall, I felt very independent and unique because I had a different background and reason for participating in the program.

This transformation is significant in my life because it helped me develop personally and relates to my professional goals. It was the first time I had been out of the country by myself, which made me feel extremely independent.  Now, I am confident in my ability to navigate international landscape and am inspired to see other parts of the world.  Seeing the medical school at the University of Tartu reinforced my desire to pursue the medical field, and I was fascinated by the both the healthcare and education systems in both Finland and Estonia.  There has been so much controversy in recent years regarding healthcare in the United States, and I think we could learn a lot from other countries.  In Finland and Estonia, everyone has access to healthcare regardless of income, which is fantastic!  If the United States could implement a similar system, I think a lot of our problems could be alleviated.

Feel free to check out my Twitter account @EricsFinlandOSU for more pictures/commentary from my trip!