Kayaking the lakes of Stockholm
Author: Devan Mishra | Majors: Finance, Accounting | Semester: Summer 2023
As the plane rolled to a halt, I frantically checked my phone. It read “7:27 am” and “1 WhatsApp Missed Call & Voicemail.” Concerned, I pressed the phone to my ear only to hear our travel agent demanding to speak with Dr. Mack Ivey, our faculty leader on the plane, about the 7:55 am flight to Gothenburg, Sweden. I gazed over at my best friend who offered the same facial expression I wore. We were both thinking the same thing: there’s no way we’re making our next flight. Our Health Teams Abroad (HTA) group had just touched down in Frankfurt, Germany after a 2-hour flight delay and 7-hour layover in the Chicago O’Hare International Airport, which left us with no time to spare for our last connecting flight in route to Jönköping, Sweden. Needless to say, my study abroad experience had already begun, and after switching flights, finding a new boarding pass, waiting for the customs gate to open, and riding for 2 hours on an express-like bus, I was finally immersed in Swedish culture in the Jönköping city center square later that day. Little did I realize in that moment how the next 3 weeks would completely change my life.
I applied to the HTA Sweden program out of my passion for medicine with the hopes of expanding my understanding for how healthcare across the world was delivered. Our first 2 weeks were spent in Jönköping, where each day primarily consisted of a local clinic visit and time in the classroom at Jönköping University to build upon our knowledge regarding the Swedish healthcare system. The classroom setting at the University was unique and nothing like I had seen before: octagonal-like roundtables spread the class with individual whiteboards and touchscreen interfaces, which fostered the sharing of ideas amongst our HTA group. Lectures turned into conversations. It was here where I learned about the importance of healthcare policies, and ultimately politics, in transforming the delivery and quality of healthcare, a perspective I had not taken on back home. Our professors emphasized the importance of work-life balance and family within Sweden, which can be seen through their policies that offer each parent of a newborn child up to 240 days of paid time off until the child turns 12 years old, which can be combined, shared, and divided amongst both parents however way they see fit.
The daily clinic visits in Jönköping furthered my understanding of Sweden’s universal healthcare system and policies, as I was able to see the direct impact of the very things we discussed in class. Many of the healthcare centers were committed to offering a high-quality holistic form of care to their patients, which included daily activities such a gardening, cooking, and woodworking to help rehab patients progress towards functioning independently in society. Additionally, many of the healthcare workers we talked to helped us understand how they were impacted by the government-funded healthcare system, as many doctors expressed their trust in the system that allows a medical education to be pursued for free. These unique clinic perspectives and experiences have been life-altering, as they have sparked my interest in understanding public policy on a more applicable level.
Outside of class and clinic visits, we immersed ourselves in Sweden’s scenic nature. In Jönköping, we spent a lot of time outdoors, as we hiked the beautiful trail of Norrahammars Landsbygd and ate traditional bratwursts cooked by the campfire. We also took a day trip by ferry to the nearby island Visingsö, where we biked and explored the vast farmlands and sat by the beautiful Lake Vättern for lunch. Each day in Jönköping would end with an ice cream trip to Glassfabriken, where they served fresh homemade ice cream and sorbets made each morning. Nothing beat their hazelnut ice cream and lemon sorbet.
Our last week was a rollercoaster of experiences and emotions spent in Stockholm. I got the opportunity to experience my first ever concert, as The Weeknd was in town to continue Leg 2 of his After Hours Til Dawn Tour! This was one of my favorite memories, as I remember losing my mind and voice with the unreal live performance of each song. We also visited the bustling and colorful streets of Gamla Stan each day to further our immersion in Swedish culture. We found ourselves in a different part of the “Old Town” each day, and explored the Royal Palace, the Vasa, and the Nobel Prize Museum. Because we spent the end of June in Stockholm, we also visited the Skansen park on Midsummer eve to take part in the festival encompassed with singing and dancing, as well as enjoying the early architecture of Swedish buildings still present at the outdoor park. Just as we thought our adventures abroad had come to an end, our HTA group was stranded in the Newark International Airport, which extended our travel experience by a day. Because of this, the first thing I did when finally returned home was lie down in my own bed!
As I reflect back on my experience, I would highly recommend this program to anyone interested in medicine, as I feel that this is an all-encompassing opportunity to learn more about the intricacies of healthcare delivery, which is a crucial part of becoming a successful physician. I think it is also important for one to gain familiarity with the US healthcare system prior to embarking on this riveting journey, as this will serve as a reference and point of comparison with the Swedish healthcare system.