Exploring Sweden with Health Teams Abroad

Author: Lynley Bowen | Major: Communications Science and Disorders | Semester: Summer 2024

Gamla Stan, Stockholm

My name is Lynley Bowen, and I am in the College of Education and Health Professions. I am majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders, and I have two minors including Medical Humanities and Human Development and Family Sciences. I attended the Health Teams Abroad in Sweden trip in May 2024. I was particularly interested in attending this trip for the opportunity to discover what healthcare is like outside of the United States. As a future healthcare professional, this was a highly valuable opportunity. While we were in Sweden we studied in Jönköping at Jönköping University for two weeks. We also visited Stockholm for a week. Our trip lasted a total of three weeks. We took classes about healthcare during our time spent at Jönköping University. We got to interact and take some of the classes with the Swedish students. This was such a great experience because we got to hear personal perspectives about the culture in Sweden. We toured different healthcare facilities across Jönköping. Prior to our departure to Sweden, we visited healthcare facilities in Northwest Arkansas. It was eye opening to see the differences between the Swedish facilities and the ones here in Arkansas. I think my favorite moments while studying in Jönköping were the interactions I had with the Swedish students and the citizens.

My favorite activities outside of class had to be outdoor activities such as hiking and biking. We biked around a beautiful island called Visingsö. It was gorgeous. There were fields of yellow flowers and pretty red houses all around. We took a ferry to get to the island. Another one of my favorite outdoor activities was a hike that overlooked lake Vättern, which is right beside Jönköping. It was a stunning overlook. For one of our group activities, we went on a hike and had a barbeque halfway through it beside a waterfall. We were accompanied by some of our Swedish professors and students from Jönköping University. One of my favorite things about our day-to-day activities was taking part in the Swedish tradition called fika. Fika involves taking a break to socialize and drink coffee and have a pastry. We would often take fikas during our classes. It was such a great way to refresh and reset. It was nice coming back to class with a fresh mind. Sweden seems to have a slower pace of life and puts much value on work-life balance. At many of the health clinics we toured, the employees would have fika times built into their schedules. I think that if any student is interested in studying abroad, they should just go for it. While I was hesitant at first, studying abroad has to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. It was extremely eye opening to my future career as a Speech-Language Pathologist. This trip impacted me in so many ways. It was a great way to get out of my comfort zone and push me to think in ways that I have not considered before. Life-long friends were made, and so were many unforgettable memories.