IFMSA Exchange Experience

I felt so lucky to have the chance to be a local here in Finland. Although only living for about a month and a half, I think I can understand why this country is leading in the best categories.

In this post, I will tell you about my main purpose of going to Finland: my daily activities during the exchange program in the Neurosurgery Department, Töölö Hospital, Helsinki in June 2019.

Every day I woke up here, I felt so refreshed. Thanks to this city's very clean air that I breathe every time even during sleep.

The first thing to do was just like the usual morning routine: take a shower, dress up, have breakfast. What made it more practical was having breakfast with a picnic basket I received from the hospital the day before.

After that, I walked to the nearest bus station: Ruskeasuo, and using the HSL application to know which bus I should take. It took 20 minutes from the student flat to the hospital, consisting of 10-12 minutes of walking and 8-10 minutes by bus.

Well, my morning routine here was so much healthier than mine in Jakarta 😅

Arriving at the hospital, I changed my clothes with scrubs and hospital shoes. Washing hands, putting on a surgical cap, white coat, and mask, I'm ready!

I spent most of the time observing in operating rooms. There are 4 operating rooms, with 2-3 operations for each room per day. Postoperative patients mostly can go home within hours. Or, if there is a certain clinical condition that holds the patient longer, it's still in the range of less than a week.

Besides OR, I was also visiting the ward and clinic. The main difference is, unlike what we usually find in an Indonesian hospital, there is no family that standby all day beside the patients' bed. Medical staff there who are taking care of all of the patients' stuff.

The most cases I learned in this hospital were degenerative disc diseases, brain tumors, and aneurysm. I also observed DBS implantation in awake Parkinson's disease patients and electrocoagulation for trigeminal neuralgia.

For future applicants, I suggest becoming moderately active during the day. The doctors will explain something every time they were asked, like the clinical condition of the patient, the principal of the procedures, and how to interpret the MRI--despite their tight schedule.

The most interesting part of my day was practicing suture under a microscope. Starting from suture number 4.0, 6.0, 8.0, even until 9.0. Indeed it was an impressive experience. It took extra focus and patient to handle those tiny instruments:")

In the noon, I had lunch in the Ravioli restaurant. By exchanging the lunch coupon, I had complete lunch every day (main course, dessert, salad, soup). The lunch menu, along with the ingredients, can be accessed through the Ravioli website.

The coupon can also be exchanged with a picnic basket. The picnic basket really saved my time every morning.

Thanks to the convenient public transportation and places in Helsinki. Every day, I still can be productive even after finishing my day at the hospital. I went to the nearest park after the work hour, just to chill or read something. Or I can go to other parks, museums, libraries, or beach. I also joined several local activities that I knew from the Helsinki website, like free yoga class, art exhibition, and live music.

After I finished my day, sometimes I cook a meal for dinner.

Overall, I really glad to had this splendid exchange program. What I like the most is that I had the experience of becoming a local in this happiest country. I was also blessed that I can witness how this country's nearly ideal healthcare system works.