evaluation time!

It’s been exactly a month from the day our memorable experience began. Upon reflection, my learning expectations have definitely been met. I wanted to meet new people, learn about other countries and their experience with regards to education and health practices. I wanted to enjoy the snow and the Finnish lifestyle. All these were achieved and this program managed to give me a taste of what I missed when I did not apply to go on a 3 month Erasmus last semester. Moreover, I learnt how to manage and prepare things, and how to work in a group, and how to care for myself when I was alone. I also feel that these 2 weeks have made me mature through the different experiences I encountered.

Apart from my personal development, the MINE program gave me the opportunity to learn and expand my knowledge professionally. I learnt more about the varieties in the way nurses work across Europe, becoming more aware of the lack of nursing autonomy in our country. Nevertheless, the mentoring system seems to be quite on a good track. I believe that this program is suitable for all students who plan on going on a study exchange since one can be somewhat prepared or at least get a glimpse at what to expect from other universities and health systems. Furthermore, information accessed from the internet may not always portray the complete picture of the required data, whereas, when students talk amongst each other about the systems, they tend to be more honest since it would be based on personal experiences. Having a person with whom you can communicate before leaving and meeting on arrival may ease the worries, making the person feel welcomed at the hosting university.

Face book, blogging and the webs were an excellent idea to help prepare and get to know each other before meeting; therefore, working in groups was easier, since we were not complete strangers to each other! With regards group work; I'd have to say that, while I loved working with my group, I found it quite challenging to put the whole thing together for the conference. We updated the wiki, which was a quite interesting subject for me at first, but reading your own country's information was quite a tiring and boring task. Moreover, although we did talk about differences and similarities between us, we did not go into cultural aspects the way the others did. I personally found it quite difficult to relate our group work with the others'. This may have been easier if the Wiki were updated in the country groups having each person in charge of a section, rather than one person becoming more knowledgeable on Wiki updates, and others not knowing what there actually was written in them. 

The use of patchwork was great for me, since it was guidance throughout the program, having one patch leading smoothly to the other. This might have been easier if it were presented beforehand rather than on arrival, so that everyone would understand what would be required of them during the MINE project; for example, everyone would participate in the making of the digital video, since you have to make a digital story during the program. I also suggest that mentors would be allocated in each respective group to act as coordinators and to ensure that the work is equally divided amongst us - not that I want to be treated as a child, don't get me wrong! I guess after a week of getting to know each and having fun, no one imagined it would get so intense the following week!

What else can I say??? It has been a wonderful experience, which has made me develop personally and professionally. It was very difficult for me to get back to writing this blog, I must admit, since at the moment the dissertation deadline is getting very close and the day seems to be so short with so many things to do including final placement and university. No wonder I miss those days in Finland! A very big thank you to all of you for making this unique experience memorable!