Week 9 … Gone but NEVER Forgotten

 

This is my 9^th and final week in Odense and, as expected, my feelings are very mixed… I have LOVED my time here and have learned things, both professionally and personally, that I don’t feel I could have achieved at home in the UK. I LOVE my job here and have felt so welcomed by my team and residents. I also LOVE the city of Odense, with its vibrant culture and national pride. I am, without doubt, going to miss my life here. However, I am eager to get back home to my boys, 2 legged and 4 legged alike, and cannot wait to smother them in hugs and kisses (sorry, but not sorry boys).

 

I will spend my last days absorbing as much as I can of this beautiful county, reflecting on all the wonderful things I have experienced and will most definitely shed a few tears as I wave goodbye to the people, city and culture I have fallen in love with. But one thing is certain, I WILL be back!

 

Gone, for now, but NEVER forgotten…

 

Week 5

This has been an interesting week for me. I feel that I becoming more independent in my work with our residents and feel more able to initiate engagement than I was at the beginning of my journey. This is obviously natural progression and I knew that this would be the case, but I still feel that it is a wonderful step forward and really enjoying the freedom of ‘independent’ working.

 

Conversely, I recognize that I am now coming to the end of my time here in beautiful Odense and do feel regret that it is coming to a close so quickly and that I simply do not have enough time to do all I want to do at the pace I want to do it.

 

I will be making the most of the time I have left and will most definitely continue to embrace any and all new experiences that come my way.

Exploring Odense

Media Museum

 

Total Nerd Fest! There were props form so many films I love I felt like a kid in a candy store and everything was free. My Danish buddy was a diamond and endured all the geeking out in good humour and took random pics when I asked.

 

I got to be the Queen of Herts for a moment.

 

And got to shake hands with Sonny form iRobot, which as it turns out, I wasn’t meant to do… So we left the area pretty quickly!

Highly recommend any nerd buff to have a visit if they come to Odense.

 

Odense Library

 

We also popped into the Odense library and discovered that they loan a great deal of things I had never thought would be associated with a library. The architecture of the building is a real sight to see as well. This is a picture of the view you get when looking up from the lobby through to the roof…

 

I must find out if our libraries rent out vinyl’s, art, EA Sport equip PC’s, music booths, instruments and a whole load of other things!

Week 4

After 4 weeks in Denmark I feel that I have started to settle into a rhythm here: cycle most days; enjoy the journey; build a little more rapport with residents; feel like I am doing some good; study; reflect.  I feel that I have adapted well to this part of my journey and continue to enjoy the calm and quiet I have found here, but I do miss my boys and madam… which is the price of being a mother with ambition I suppose.

 

I still feel that I am not fully reaching my full potential in placement, but I think I may have placed unrealistic expectations upon myself, as usual. Of course, I know that I cannot be as involved and independent as I usually am, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to be. However, I definitely feel that I am gaining insight into the complexities of effective communication and tools to help traverse the barriers that we face trying to convey clear and meaningful messages. It is these lessons alone make my frustration worth tolerating, and happily.

 

As I enter my 5^th week, the crest of my Danish experience, I feel a sense of ‘not enough’ creeping into my thoughts. I wonder if 2 months is really enough time for me to learn all I want to absorb and explore the unwalked paths I have only glimpsed… I also question why this has to my only adventure… The world is vast and the seemingly innumerable cultures rooted within it are vivid tapestries I think I want to explore further. Just how to achieve this while supporting my family; building upon my skills and cultivate my career is the challenge here.

Best Day So Far!!

I have such a positive day today. Why I hear you ask! Well, let me tell you…

 

Resident engagement

 

Today was the first day I was able to spend the whole day interacting with our residents AND engage in some meaningful therapeutic work. I was able to do this by utilising a variety of skills, such as:

 

• active listening shills
• motivational interviewing by accepting each residents level of readiness to change and evolve and exploring the potential challenges, risks and results of their actions and goals in a non-judgmental and non-confrontational environment.
• positive reinforcement by recognising their efforts and achievements.
• mindfulness by helping residents to remain in the present and avoid an overreaction or becoming overwhelmed.

 

Refection session

 

I then had a fantastic reflective session with my wonderful mentor where we discussed my progress so far. I was also informed that the team was very happy to have me on board; that they felt I was a good student and that they would be happy to consider me should I decide to join the team (with the condition that I learn Danish, of course).

 

This was so reassuring to hear and really helped me to resolve my concerns that I was not achieving my full potential due to the language barrier.

 

Cherry on the cake

 

But, the cherry on the cake was when a resident sought me out just as I was about to get on my bike to go home. This resident decided to share that they felt I had really helped them to manage their anxiety today; felt that I had also been helping them to move forward with their goals and appreciated the work we were doing together.

 

Happy Bunny Indeed

 

Despite the howling head on winds, I was grinning like the Cheshire cat my whole ride home.

 

Here’s to more days like this one!

 

 

 

 

Brunsviger!

I was introduced to a speciality cake that is unique to the island of Funen called Brunsviger. It is composed of a fluffy sponge that generously covered in a brown sugar sauce. Simple but LUSH!

 

There is also a birthday cake version called Lagkage, made with cream instead of brown sugar, that I would like to try before I go home.

 

Sadly, it is one of those things where you take a little piece of every time you walk past it, then suddenly it’s all gone!

 

This is definitely something I am going to try and make for my boys when I get home.

 

 

 

Week 3

It seems the last of the summer warmth is finally starting to leave Odense and the leaves are falling thick and fast, but the days remain sunny and my bike rides treat me to new sights and experiences regularly.

 

I continue to learn a little more about the Danish health care system with each shift and find it is more similar to the UK that it first appeared to be, which I had expected. My mentor and colleagues continue to be wonderful guides and I am starting to form good rapport with some of the residents as they become more confident talking with me in English. The language barrier here continues to be a challenge but I am learning a great deal about alternative forms of communication which I don’t think I could have done at home.

 

Another First

This year is the first year I have not been with my children on the anniversary of my daughter’s death (20^th Oct). It has been 11 years now, so the pain is more like an angry old wound rather than the gaping carnage that it once was, and we focus on the happy memories rather than the painful ones. But…

 

I suppose I just feel strange not being with my kids on this day.

 

I always knew that this day would come, and I have tried to prepare myself and the kids by encouraging them to remember the happy memories we share of her, and to accept the pangs of pain that come with them as signs of how much we truly loved her rather than another burden of grief.

 

I think being here in Odense has helped. I feel more relaxed here, and much less “switched on 24/7” in that I feel my mind is much calmer. Although, I have been told on a number of occasions that I am a very calm person back in the UK, which is always nice to hear for a number of reasons. I am not sure why I feel this way here, and that is something I will continue to reflect on as I like to understand the whys and hows as we journey through life.

 

I think, that the next year I do spend this day apart from my children, I will be able to reflect on this time and draw strength from the peace and calm I feel.

Week 2

Riding is an adventure…

 

My second week in Odense has been so busy but I have felt so calm and relaxed… needless to say, I have felt a little confused by this contrast of state and emotion. I have been cycling all over the place and seen some beautiful sites here, but I am convinced Paula.2 is trying to cause me physical harm! Namely, I almost collided with other cyclists because my breaks suddenly decide not to engage. So, as I am hurtling towards the busy cycling intersection I shout to other riders that I am sorry but my breaks aren’t working. Thankfully, they were on the ball, so we all got out of the situation unscathed. Then I almost ended up in the river because I was too busy ogling at the sites, so, technically not Paula.2’s fault…

 

My first Therapy Session

 

I did have a wonderful opportunity to sit in on a therapy session with a resident. This session was something I had not seen before and think that it is something I will adopt in my future work. Basically, the resident and their keyworker have a conversation about whatever the resident wants to focus on and the key worker builds a visual map of the conversation on a whiteboard. While they talk, an MDT sits and observes. When the resident concludes the conversation, the MDT group discuss the conversation openly and honestly while the resident and key worker observe them. At the end of the MDT discussion, the resident and keyworker talk about what was discussed by the MDT; how the resident feels about the comments and observations and if they feel it has helped them with their topic of focus. It is left to the resident to decide how or if they want to move forward and the key worker and MDT are there to help facilitate their choices.

 

In this instance, the exercise was empowering to the resident and gave them control of their care. It also showed the resident how the MDT have come to their conclusions honestly which helped build trust between them. The resident stated that they found the session very helpful and that they would appreciate more opportunities like this one, which was great to hear. I do feel this type of therapy session has the potential to go wrong, as many do, but that is where we as professionals would need to assess a resident’s suitability for this type of work.

 

Chalk and Cheese…?

 

I also noticed that when a resident is not at their best and they appear to be at the beginning of their deterioration journey the MDT/keyworker sit and have a very open; honest and frank discussion with them. The option of hospital admission is ALWAYS available to the resident and it is not viewed as a last resort but rather a means of prevention and support. This practice of not waiting until the resident is in crisis, or close to it, to consider hospital admission appears to really help residents cope with this stage of their journey and definitely seems to help residents avoid becoming very unwell. I suspect that this has a lot to be with the accessibility to mental health A&E and inpatient facilities which are very different from the UK.

 

This is where I am seeing the biggest difference between UK practice and Danish practice. The Danes appear to have a much more symbiotic relationship between hospital admission and maintaining wellness. From what I have experienced, the UK is not in a position to support this type of care, yet, but I do hope that we will achieve this soon. I have no doubt that there is much I am not fully understanding because of the language barriers, but my mentor is being a fantastic guide and reflects on every experience I have which I feel is really helping me to develop a true appreciation and understanding of the Danish culture in health.

 

Week 1 Comes To An End

As my first week in Denmark comes to an end I find that I remain shocked at the disparity between the UK healthcare system and the Danish. It appears that the Danes are very aware that mental health is essential to health and seem to understand that taking their time to support people’s recovery and rehabilitation yields more meaningful and long-lasting results. I am sure that there are challenges here as there are back in the UK that I have not had the opportunity to explore but I was honestly expecting something more similar to the UK system than what I have found so far.

Initially, I thought that I was simply not understanding what I was being told, but when my wonderful mentor took me for a tour of the local hospital, I realised that I simply couldn’t appreciate the differences until I was able to physically explore them. The hospital is like a city unto itself. The physical health part of the hospital (a huge combination of buildings) appears to be embracing technology and works hard to make the holistic patient experience one of their main concerns. When I asked where the mental health section was my mentor informed me that this was a separate area. As it turns out there is a whole building dedicated to mental health A&E where people can come and seek support and even stay for a few days if they felt they needed to. I have NEVER seen this before and was blown away by the facilities.

 

But it didn’t stop there… I was then shown around one of the adult psychiatric wards in the adult psychiatric hospital when we stopped in to visit a patient, there is also a child and adolescent psychiatric hospital. I also came to understand that it is standard practice here in Denmark to have adult and child psychiatric hospitals with all physical health hospitals and there is a dedicated mental health A&E, similar to the one I saw in every area.

 

From the little I have been able to explore, I am looking forward to finding out more about the Danish health care system and have no doubt there is a lot I can learn and hopefully implement at home. I am also interested to find out what the challenges are here and how the Danes are tackling them as I suspect their strategy will be quite different to our own.