As our time in Shanghai is coming to an end soon, we started thinking about our time here and all the things we have done during this time. We also have been thinking about our practical training and how it has improved our nursing skills.

When we first came here it was cold and rainy, not exactly the dream. The school seemed really big and majestic, but we were stunned about the fact that we only had classes in our dormitory. They separated us from the Chinese students so we had no chance to get to know them. After that we have met only few of them who had wanted to hang out with us. We think they are just shy and being friends is different in China. It takes much more time for them to trust someone enough to be friends. In the beginning we were overwhelmed about everything being so different and we had basically a culture shock. After few weeks we got used to it and started to really like this city. We learned how to use public transport (not easy at all) and got used to the food here. We also got to know other Finnish students here and it was great to know that we weren’t the only ones who thought that some things here were bad and poorly organized. We also met new people in the hospital and they were really nice. We travelled around Shanghai to see some sights. When we started realizing how big the city really was, it was amazing to think that we were in a city where over 20 million people lived. It is a great feeling to some Finns who have lived in a small town most of their lives. The first trip outside Shanghai was Beijing – another big city full of history. The Great Wall of China, Forbidden City etc… The places we’ve always known about became real when we actually saw them. Another trip was to Huangshan (not including Miika), to the beautiful mountains and fresh air. It was nice to see the countryside of China too. Most of the time we have been in Shanghai because this is such a big city full of things to do. And also we haven’t had many holidays here so we haven’t been able to travel so much. Now it’s warm in here and we feel that the time has passed really quickly. We’ve never regretted coming here. We still have few weeks here and we are going to enjoy it!

The practical training has been interesting. Most of the time we have been observing different kinds of procedures and comparing differences in the health care between China and Finland. There are lots of differences but many things are basically the same in Finland. At times we’ve thought that the practical training is boring because they don’t let us do that much. Sometimes it has been really interesting, especially at SICU-surgical intensive care unit. We think that the most interesting procedure has been observing a cardioangiogram. We also learned interesting things about respiration machine and ABP (arterial blood pressure) measuring. This practical training has improved our nursing skills in many different ways. We have learned about international nursing a lot and improved our English. We have also learned important things about machines you need to know as a nurse and learned that if a Chinese nurse does some procedure in a different way, it doesn’t mean she does it wrong. If the result is the same, it’s alright to do it their way. We have realized that in Finland the health care system is really good compared to China and it’s normal because China is a developing country. You learn to appreciate what you have at home when you see how badly things could be. Of course here are things that are just as good as in Finland.

The nurses had a photography competition and we were in the gallery too. The photos are taken in the neurosurgery ward.