Århus and Vejle (short study tour)

What a week! Monday morning, all 7 sections (over 150 students) of Medical Practice and Policy attended a lecture and then went off on our respective short study tours. My section and one other went to Aarhus and Vejle; the bus ride to Aarhus was about 3.5 hours. First we had group lunch at Horning Kro, a cute little restaurant in the middle of beautiful rolling hills and a lake. 

view from the restaurant!

Then we continued on to Skødstrup General Practice where we had a lecture from one of the 8 General Practitioners at the practice. I learn so much with every medical visit we go on! It's so interesting to compare the US and Denmark on so many different levels. In Denmark, EVERYONE has a GP. There are specialists, but pretty much the only way to see a specialist is if you are referred to one by your GP. In America, GPs are not as highly regarded or as widely utilized, so going into medicine in that field is not as enticing. Here, almost everyone in the medical field is (or at least starts off as) a GP. They call them the "gatekeepers" of the health care system; about 90% of the population will see a GP, but only about 10% of that 90% will be referred to a specialist. The GP basically has the most important job and far more often than not, they are the ones diagnosing and treating problems. The ones we've talked to have prided themselves in their very intimate, personal, and lifelong relationships with their patients; it is a cradle to the grave system, as they call it. Really incredible to think just how different the concept of General Medicine is here as compared to home. As we have talked more about the health care system here, I feel like I have a much greater understanding of Obamacare, and I still think that it is wonderful to have free healthcare for all, but I think we could benefit from focusing more on GPs as gatekeepers. We spend so much on healthcare and it is just not sustainable or financially feasible to have free healthcare without some kind of a gatekeeping/referral system. One of our lecturers started off by saying, "welcome to the Danish welfare system, where everybody looks at you condemningly if you smoke because we'll be paying the hospital bill!" It's like I mentioned before with the prison system and the education system.. they support each other. Yes, everyone pays around 60% income tax, but they're so happy to do it because they trust the system and they know that it works.. if they grow up healthy because they all have free health care and are educated because they all have free education (actually, students are paid to attend school if they go on to university) then why wouldn't they want to put their money back into the system for their own children and the children of the next generation? Of course it's much easier for everyone to support each other when the population of the entire country is only 5.5 million and they live in a VERY homogenous society, but even so.. it's interesting to think about. In my criminology class, we are talking about similar matters revolving around the Danish welfare system. No one wants to destroy or just rip criminals apart in prison because when they are released, everyone is paying for their reintegration into society. I just think that generally speaking, the support system here is something to strive for, to at least some degree. Okay, I'm done my xenocentric rant (for now).
So anyway, after speaking with Per (the GP), we drove the last hour to the Aarhus hostel we were staying in. It was.. well.. a hostel. Pretty nice considering, but there were 6 of us in my room, which was barely big enough for one person. We were really only there to sleep, though, so it was fine. Once again, they dropped us off in the city center and told us to get dinner, have fun, and find our own way back to the hostel before 7 am the next morning. We all managed. Me, Julia, and a small group from our class went to a Pita Pub for dinner and then Julia and I went next door to the nicest restaurant with a big comfy couch for a glass of wine and shared some ice cream:)

Later that night, we met up with the rest of our class at a pub where they played Gangnam Style and Thrift Shop (two of the most popular American songs right now) about 12 times each. Then, we all took the bus home together and went to bed.

saki bombs!

our room.. yes, there are 6 beds in here

The next day, we had breakfast at the hostel (Musli, yogurt, and fruit.. basically all I ever eat for breakfast here) and left for Skejby Hospital, a huge University Hospital in Aarhus where they do tons of really awesome research.. mainly cardiovascular and primarily on pigs, which was really sad:( I almost had to leave the room when they showed us the research centers where they were doing open heart surgery on a pig or putting them down. Of course I asked how they got them/what kind of life they had and the doctor very sweetly told me the university has a farm where the pigs live perfect, happy lives until they come to the hospital, so naturally I felt a little better.
After the hospital, we went to Jelling where the Jelling stones are. Click the link if you want the full story of the stones, it's SO interesting. Basically, it is the most historic landmark in Denmark as it represents the marking of the history of Denmark like a zillion years ago aka during the Viking age.
Here's a quick wiki description:
The Jelling stones are massive carved runestones from the 10th century, found at the town of Jelling in Denmark. The older of the two Jelling stones was raised by King Gorm the Old in memory of his wife Thyra. The larger of the two stones was raised by King Gorm's son, Harald Bluetooth in memory of his parents, celebrating his conquest of Denmark and Norway, and his conversion of the Danes to Christianity. The runic inscriptions on these stones are considered the most well known in Denmark. The Jelling stones stand in the churchyard of Jelling church between two large mounds. The stones represent the transitional period between the indigenousNorse paganism and the process of Christianization in Denmark; the larger stone is often cited as Denmark's baptismal certificate (dåbsattest), containing a depiction of Christ. They are strongly identified with the creation of Denmark as a nation state and both stones feature one of the earliest records of the name "Danmark" (in the form of accusative "tanmaurk" ([danmɒrk]) on the large stone, and genitive "tanmarkar" (pronounced [danmarkaɽ]) on the small stone).


We were given a tour of the museum by the cutest, old Scottish man who reminded me of Papa in the sweetest way and then left to explore the church where Gorm the Old was buried (we actually stood on top of him!!)

model of one of the stones

and another.. depicting Christ as the savior (represents the conversion of Denmark to Christianity)

the North Mound (original burial site for Gorm) and the church (current burial site for Gorm.. his son, Bluetooth, moved him when he converted the Danes to Christianity)

me with two of the Jelling stones (one from Gorm to his wife, Thyra, and the other from their son Bluetooth  to his parents. Also, the one on the left is the first time "Denmark" was written down.)

sunset behind the South Mound

standing on Gorm the Old 

sunset on our drive to the hostel

After our tour, we went Go-Karting and then to a different hostel in Vejle which was much bigger and nicer.. more like a hotel than a hostel. We had dinner as soon as we got there (sooooo good) and then our two trip coordinators brought us games, snacks, cake, and about 3 crates of Tuborg, one of the most popular Danish beers.

go karting!

some of the girrrllzzzzz

The next morning (at freaking 6am) we woke up for breakfast and went back to Aarhus to visit ARoS, a famous (and absolutely incredible) art museum. Click the link for more, but we got to tour some of the coolest rooms, see some Danish artists, and view the new Edvard Munch exhibit. Just amazing. My favorite part was the top of the museum, called the Rainbow Room. It's a huge glass circle around the top of the museum with different colored windows.. just check out the pics! :)

on our way to lunch before the museum!

at the cafe!

all the food here is seriously so incredible. and expensive. but so worth it

obsessed with the cafes here!

cool graffiti in Aarhus

canal through central Aarhus

museum from the outside.. obviously that's the rainbow room

"boy" .. one of the most famous attractions in ARoS

so freakishly real!

"Deathbed"

original sketch of  "The Scream"

"24 hours in 6 minutes" room

most of the girls!

We went home that night (Wednesday) and then Thursday and Friday were basically just lectures and classes back at DIS. Thursday we got another lecture on the healthcare system and the welfare model and Friday, I got to go to a midwifery clinic. Here's another huge difference.. I was talking to Susanne and she was absolutely floored that essentially no one uses midwifes in America. I told her they are stereotypically viewed as "old fashioned", "hollistic", "hippie-esque" and she asked who the heck do we go to then?! 100% of women here have midwifes whether they choose hospital or home births. They are VERY highly regarded.. you don't see an obstetrician or gynecologist unless their are complications.. it's a hugely important position in Danish society. Once again, we could probably take some lessons from them considering how low (or high, depending on how you look at it) the US ranks in maternal mortality. Denmark is in the top 5 for lowest maternal death rates while we rank at about 25.. I actually wrote a paper on the high maternal mortality rate in the US while I was in Kenya (where they rank off the charts because the rates are so high). Maybe we all need midwifes. Anyway, it was really interesting, once again, to compare such a major aspect of health care/livelihood between the US and DK.
After our tour/lecture with Mette (a midwife who also teaches at DIS), we went to our normal class at Bispebjerg Hospital for our first exam (which was ridiculously easy compared to home.. thank god!) And finally the week was over! It was really fun getting to know everyone in my class outside of the classroom setting and I learned and saw so many things!! Great week:) Last night, to celebrate the end of the week, Susanne and I worked out at the gym at her work and then went out to coffee and then to dinner at an adorable vegetarian restaurant called Firefly Garden.