Hola, amigos de Estonia,

Maarjo

The Barcelona school life is very interesting. All the lectures /lessons are in Spanish and the powerpoints are in Catalan – we understood quite lots of them, because the medicine language is Latin and everything bases of Latin. We made new friends at school and we like the lessons.

Then we had an Easter about week: we visited Sagrada Familia (cathedral –one of the famous sights in Barcelona), Parc Güell, where everything had very beautiful view over Barcelona; Montujic Parc ( famous National Catalan museum and watersource shows) and then I had a birthday on the restaurant, where we tasted paellas (Spanish/Catalan national food).

We were waiting for a long time our practice and finally, at 6th of April, it started at Sabadell and the hospital name is Parc Tauli, which was one of the biggest ones in Spain. The first day was very interested, we had a meeting and excursion to hospital. And we were showed many rooms.

Now we are staying in the hospital for a week and we like it. The co-workers are very helpful and friendly. The day starts at 8 clock and finishes about 15. 30 ( - 16.30, it depends). I take the blood everyday and I try to put the catheter and I do the EKG.

Kertu

Sorry that I haven’t wrote to here long time. I have had really busy time and also here are many problems about the internet. And every time when I went to the campus office and complain about that I don’t have internet again, then the lady in the campus office smiling and saying all the time, sorry, we can’t to anything today, maybe tomorrow, because the info technology specialist went to home already. And it is quite common, that the IT man come to your house 1,5 or 2 weeks later, because in here people have a lot of time:D:D Usually they don’t hurry. It is so typical Spain. If I skip this part, then everything is superJ.

Now a little bit about the hospital. The name is Parc Tauli. I am on the nephrology and vasculatures and Maarjo is in oncology. I really like mine department. Work is very interesting there and all crew is really friendly and they are smiling all the time. People are always positive and this is definitely one thing what we should learn to themJ.

We had to wait 5 weeks all together get a nurse, who can speak English, but mine cant speaks much, but she can understand, if I speak slowly and using the simple words. She is speaking mostly Spanish to me and I am speaking English to her. But it’s not problem for us. We used really mixed languageJ. But still, I am very happy, because, she is my reference nurse. She is a good teacher. She really wants that I can understand everything. If I can’t understand at the first time, then, she is explaining again, if it isn’t still helpful, then she try to draw or show me some thing what can be helpful. Also she really trust me..on my 4^th day in hospital, I did almost everything what she is doing usually. In Estonia in my mind reference nurses don’t trust the trainers very much and firstly the can do only really easy things, like take a blood presser etc.

In here I can do injections, take a blood, clean and treat the wounds, do a blood transfusion and teardrop infusion etc. It means every thing. It is really nice and I am learning a lot at this practice time.

There are also some differences between the Estonian and Spanish hospital, but they are not so big like I thought before. There are thing which are better in Estonia and the other thing what are better in here. For example, in here people don’t have to do waste separation, what we always have to do in hospital. It is not use to me. But in here nurses have to fill some more papers and the have to put their signature almost every where. I think it is good for the security aspects.

Hasta bronto,

Besos,

Kertu and Maarjo J

Practice in Riga

Greetings from Jurmala and Riga,
Since our last post we have managed to compete a few more practical x-ray exercises in Clinical university hospital of children and MRI. These exercises went very succesful for us. We have gathered great amount of knowledge and stuff also allowed us to work for our own without supervision.
We have decided that when we come back to Tallinn we shall also introduce the Erasmus programme to other students. It would be helpful for practical knowledge to involve as many students as possible to participate in programme.
The college where we are living during our practice was open door day. Future students could learn about the college, it's profesors and profesion itself. It was plesant for us to see that very many scholars are interested in our profesion.
It was unusually good weather last weekend, approximately 20C*, it was the first time we could really have a good walk and sightseeing of Jurmala. Hope to have a good look on Riga as well later on.

Kind regards,
Tatjana and Zinaida.

Pactice in Tartu.

Tere,

We are students from P.Stradins Medical College of the University of Latvia. We came here in Tartu at 12.04.2010. Daniel who is Erasmus Coordinator of Tartu Health Health care college was very nice welcome in us. He was intoduce us with school and neighborhood. Actually, everybody who I have meet here is very nice and sincere. Our first practice was in mammography in Tartu University Hospital. There was awesome staff and medicine tools in radiology department. Actually only one problem is here – that is language barrier, but I think every Erasmus student know that. Very difficult is contact with patients, but that is that the smallest. This experience already now is very valuable.
Thank You, Daniel and Zinaida for welcoming us! You are great!


Head aega,

Dace

Greetings from Malta

My practical training in MRI is over now, I really liked there because I actually made examinations by myself: Radiographers there were very educated and that`s the one reason why they are working totally independantly and they nearly do not need any radiologist help.
Nex week I will start my practical training in general X-ray.
Still everything is OK, going to the hospital every day and started to do my independent assignments that I have to do for the Institute Of Health Care.
For the last few days the weather haven´t been very good, it is quite cloudy, rainy and windy but otherwise it is warm.

Silja

The second week in Jürmala

Last week passed for so so fast that we bearly understood that. We got to know a really nice girl from our dormitory whos name is Valentina and she was so nice showing us Riga and also the best shops and food places there. The shops variety is like everywhere in the word, there are cheaper shops and also more excpensive, like choses for everyone.
We just can´t believe how nice is our instructor is, just so helpful and lovely to us. She is showing us so many things in laboratory, we even got excursion through the hospital. And also she is so nice by bringing us chocolate and bicuits...unbelivable :) Last week came here students from Spain who are going to be in praxis with us, hope that they are going to be our new friends.
Train is a really common way as a public transport here in Riga. We are using train at least twice a day and last week buying a ticket we saw that train arrived and we were running so fast to catch this train and we made it....yess...but unfortunately it was the rong one... :) So all those little missunderstandings are actually helping us to get manage here better and better and making our life here more colourful and happier.

Visu labu :)

Olesja and Mirian BAII

Now I am doing my practical training in MRI Unit, in Mater Dei Hospital and everything is going well. I have made some examinations by myself for example brain and lumbar spain. There is very interesting and I think that there are quite many things and tips, that we should use in our hospitals in Estonia. At the moment I have to do different kind of independent assignments and have to write reports and at the same time doing my placement. My workdays are not long usually only 6 hours at 8 am to 14 pm every day. During the time I have spent here, I know only few words in Maltese but I hope that before I am going back home I can say some easiest sentences.:) Otherwise everything is OK, my flatmates are great and also all the other resident in our hostel thats why we have never get bored there :)

Bulduri-Zasulauks

Our first week in Bulduri is over. It is amazing that we have found so many friends here, who are so nice and helpful. We live quite near to the beach. There are so many kafejnica, which we are like. Our co-ordinator here, Aiga, is such a great personality, who has already help us so much. She also showed us this school complex introducing us different classrooms which were really nice and modern. On the second day we went by train to the hospital in Zasulauks (Riga), its 13 km from our dormity. For Mirian it was the first time going by train and she had chance to wish when we were driving across the bridge. :) Our praxis is in the biggest hospitals in Latvia called Paula Stradina, which is very big complex. The first praxis we have in clinical laboratory. Laboratory is quite new and laborants are so so so so nice to us. :) Also they are so good teachers….explaining us that we could understand everything what they are doing.
We have also enough spear time to meet local students here and have so much fun. We really like here and just waiting the time when it will be enough warm weather going to the beach.
Mirian and Olesja.

Practise in Bulgaria

It's my fourth week in Bulgaria. I could not write last week, cause in hostel weren't Internet. By the way local students had spring holiday last week. In hospital weren't students. I went to the hospital alone. I felt myself like the worst student.
I like my teacher. When he see that I can do something myself, he sit down and say that he don't do nothing anymore. He learned Russian till eight class, but have forgotten it. He shows, points out what I need to do, something says in Bulgarian, something in English, in Russian or Latin. He asked me about politics and football. In Bulgaria football is very popular. He knows the names of Russian football players. In hospital there are TV and some Russian channels. We watch TV together when we have spare time. I think I'm lucky that I have such teacher. Last week I went to the museums. I visited City Gallery of fine Arts and Ethnographic museum. I liked the Ethnographic museum. There were the old clothes, money, jewels, furnished rooms and many other things.
Anzelika, RT2

Greetings from Madrid!

It is our first entry here, so don´t know where to start. First things first...

Our flight went well, we got in madrid, and our coordinator was in the airport waiting for us. He helped us to find a cheap hostel(12 euros a night), and after that we checked some advertisements of rooms to stay, and we were lucky to find one apartment which is in good location and had 2 rooms available. Everything went well, and the next day we moved in:)

To speak about our practice, well we have nothing to say, because everything didn´t go so well as it seemed. They told us that nobody speaks english here, and our spanish is not enough to start practicing. So we have to go to lessons with third year students, which is total waiste of time, because proffesors speak quickly and we are just picking up some of the words from sentences, which has nothing to do with improving our language skills. They told us we could start practice from the 19-th of April, and we do hope it will be so, because the more we are away from the practice, the harder it will be for us. we need to come home same time as we planned, cause we need to do one practice in Estonia also.

So if you are planning to go abroad, think twice, and study all the opportunities, because problematic things will come out when itś too late.
We had criterion that we need to take basic course of spainh as we did, but now feeling that we should speak and understand perfectly spanish to get a good experience.

To end this letter, we have to say that city, people, living and weather is perfect, but the most important thing why we are here is not on the level it should be. But we hope the problem will be solved, because we would really like to get knowledge of spainsh possibilities for physical therapy.

Hold the fingers grossed for us :)
Hasta Luego
Anneliis, Kaisa
FT2

Practice in Riga

Our practice begun with introduction to Elita Rutka - assistant to chief of The Institute of Radiology. Acquaintance was very plesant. It turned out that we have lots of common known specialists. Our technicians - radiologists often meet Latvian coleagues in different conferences.
The first practice we had in ST Oncology hospital. The practice was very instructive since we took part in many ineresting examinations. We were also shown ray therapy department. The next practice was devoted to angiography in P.Stradins hospital. This was very interesting part since we were able to see specialists in real everyday work.
On the whole here in Riga we have seen a lot of theory learned at universty in real practice.

I was in CT Unit at Mater Dei Hospital for 3 weeks. The radiographers who are working there are very friendly and helpful. They didn´t let me to do examinations but they allowed me to put canulas to the patsients and my job was positioning and preparation of patients. I have seen lot´s of interesting examinations and there are some differencies from our country. Also by now I have visited with my friends most popular places in Malta for example Mdina, Marsaxlokk, Gozo, Comino- Blue Lagoon… Sometimes I am little bit sad, because I am only estonian student here, but in Garden View(my hostel) there are many of other ERASMUS students and we have lot´s of fun. In this week I will start my placement in MRI and I hope that there is as good as was in CT.

Grüβe aus Marburg

I´m doing my three months physiotherapy practice in small university city called Marburg in Germany. Yesterday was my fourth practice day in hospital. Today I have free day because of the Easter. So yeah, I have been here now one week.
It has been a bit difficult to get place to live. There is not so many free rooms available and it´s very expensive to rent a room in this city. One room in an apartment or a house costs as much as my hole two-room apartment in Estonia (250 until 300 € pro Month and even more). Right now I have room for two weeks and during this time I have to find something ceratin for next months. Fortunately my coworkers in hospital are friendly and helpful so that I have already fue offers to stay couple of days at one colleague´s house and fue weeks at another´s house. It will be fun.
I´m doing my practice in Universitätsklinikum Giessen und Marburg that is more than huge. I started from otrhopedic department where are mostly patients with knee or hip joint endoprosthesis or lower limb amputation. It has been very interesting and I learn every day new skills and many medical words in german. Sofar I haven´t done so much myself, I have more absorved other physiotherapists and hopefully from next week I will start to work alone. Looking forward. And when I will be lucky then I will get chance to look some surgeries.
And the school of physiotherapy is right in hospital, it means most of the classes are there only fue theoretical lessons are in town. So students are all the time in hospital and their practical lessons are with real patients. Isn´t it cool?!

Ok, it´s all for now. It´s too nice weather to stay home so I will go to enjoy sun

Liebe Grüβe

Mariliis FT-II