Study abroad opportunities in Sweden

In Sweden, traditional nursing programs are referred to as caring sciences.Beyond training in technical skill, these schools attempt to educate students on health, growth and suffering.Regardless of name differences, similarities in class requirements and overarching values attracted the Seattle University nursing department to Mälardalen University in Eskilstuna and Västerås, Sweden for a student exchange program.

One hundred percent Seattle U-sponsored, the exchange will send two to six transfer students to study at the university for two quarters.And the department is making it possible for some students to fit it into their busy nursing curriculum.Nationwide, nursing is one of the ‘underrepresented disciplines' in education abroad, said Jennifer Fricas, professor and Global Engagement Coordinator in the College of Nursing.What are some other ways that we can provide more opportunities?The dean of the College of Nursing, Azita Emami, is from Sweden and, as a result, was able to introduce the department to some of the opportunities there.

After an 18-month process of talking with the professors at Mälardalen and a site visit to Sweden, the Global Engagement Committee decided that the university was a good match for Seattle U students.According to the program description, students will study the role of nursing in the Scandinavian healthcare system while gaining practical experience alongside Swedish and foreign exchange students in both theory and clinical courses.The College of Nursing hopes this program will provide students with a unique and valuable experience in a country often recognized for its progressive health and social policies.Nursing is such a dynamic field and you have to deal with so many different people that it makes sense to go and work and learn in a system that's completely different than ours, said junior Michelle Baker, who is applying for the Sweden exchange.

The program is currently only open to transfer students in the winter and spring of their senior year because of the way the courses are sequenced.Our traditional students are one quarter ahead so what they take doesn't align the same way,Fricas said.Many of the other study abroad opportunities take place in the summer and are difficult for transfer students because they use that time to acquire the credits they might have previously missed. This program will give students experience abroad and still allow for a timely graduation.Study abroad is so valuable for students because they learn to open their eyes to other points of view and other ways of doing the same work, Fricas said.It helps them to have that 360 degree view. You're in it. You're not just reading about it in a book.

Nursing students who have gone on study abroad immersions agree that the experience is meaningful.I think it's really important to take yourself out of your daily life, said nursing student Katherine Smith, who has worked in an orphanage with children in Belize, many of whom were HIV-positive.At school we're doing clinicals and tests and it seems like your focus is very narrowed, Smith said.Education abroad forces students to apply that focus to something other than the classroom.You can learn about something and learn about a different society and different types of healthcare programs but until you've actually experienced them, it's just words on a page, Baker said.