Jurmala

This week was full of events. We are so glad to tell that students in Jurmala have time and energy to deal with a lot of different stuff besides school duties. On Tuesday, there was a song concert at school, where we had a chance to listen songs from school choir. And again we were convinced that latvian sounds so nicely and this is of course thanks to amazing voices of choir singers too :) On Wednesday we had a new event in our schedule – competition of orientation. We were called to the team by one latvian girl Valentina. The minimum amount of the team members were 5, so besides three of us, there were also two latvian girls. In orientation we had to pass seven points, in each point we had some kind of tasks to solve. At start there was a rain but luckily it stopped quite soon :) From 9 teams, we got 4th place and for premium we got candies. The first three places got champagnes and candies as well :) To all competitors were given tea and biscuits, to get fast in a good shape. After that we were all celebrating our places and that was an amazing evening for all of us. In laboratory are everything fine and we´re getting smarter day by day. In one day we were listening with spain students to a lecture on blood coagulation and related factor by Siemens company agent. Also we are doing there routine duties as well. At the end of the week, we had a chance to visit one Latvian private laboratory which was quite big and modern.

Mirian and Olesja

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