Practical training
I worked at a hospital called Krankenhaus der Barmherzigen Brüder, which is located in the city centre in the beautiful old town. Luckily I had the opportunity to plan my shifts completely myself, so I was able to work only morning shifts. My day started at 6.30 AM with the handover from the night shift, and after that began the morning round of checking patients’ vitals, giving medications and doing basic nursing care. The same round was done in the afternoon.
As I have studied German for years in school, I wanted to manage in these clinical settings in German, which was definitely a challenge especially with the local Austrian dialect. Listening to handovers was particularly difficult at first, but over time I got used to it and by the end of my placement I was already quite confident with my language skills.
Free time
Outside of the hospital I spent most of my time with other exchange students. We would do all kinds of activities together; spend time outdoors, go to restaurants to try local foods, of course explore the local beer culture or just watch movies together. The new friends that I made were definitely something I value most about my entire exchange period.
I loved to explore the beautiful city of Salzburg and especially its beautiful old town. One of my favorite places in the city was Mönchsberg – a great place to enjoy the sunset. I also loved to do walks around the village of Puch (pictured), where the campus is located and where I stayed during my exchange. What I loved about Salzburg the most is that everywhere you look, you will always see mountains nearby.
Working culture compared to Finland
Before my exchange, I didn’t have much expectations about the working culture in Austria, other than it being maybe a bit more strict and fast-paced compared to Finland. It turned out to be somewhat correct, although it was manageable. In the hospital I worked at, the nurses worked in teams rather than as individuals, and everyone was always willing to help others if needed. The nurses worked 12-hour shifts, while in Finland the shifts are a bit shorter, 8 hours. As I got to plan my shifts, I only worked 8 hours at a time, that way I didn’t get too tired from work and also had time to do things after my shifts as well. After all, nursing care is more or less the same everywhere, and I didn’t experience any major culture shock during my placement.
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