Unni Gopinathan (23) is a fourth year medical student from Oslo, Norway.

Do you live with your parents or on your own?

I live in an apartment with two friends. It’s in quite a central part of town and just 20 minutes from the campus.

 

How’s university life in Norway?

University life in Norway is a privileged life. Although studying might take up time, in Norway school and university always leave time for having a good social life and a part-time job to earn money. After travelling all over the world the last ten years, I feel it’s quite safe to say that it’s a privilege to be a student in Norway.

Oslo is not the best student city in Norway, and that’s probably where I miss out by studying in Oslo. Since most of the students in Oslo come from Oslo the student community is dispersed, while in cities like Trondheim and Tromsoe the students are closer and the city life is more influenced by the presence of students.

 

Is it financially possible for everyone to study medicine in Norway?

Medical education in Norway is free, like all other university and college education in Norway. The only fee we pay is a student license and paper fee, which gives us a student identity card and a quota of prints at the university printers. The cost of living is high compared to other countries, of course, but do keep in mind that there is no country in the world that pays a part-time job as well as here. Primary education is also completely free, and thus anyone who has got the necessary grades through education in Norway can attend medical school without having to off-set a lot of money.

 

What do you think is the best part of the medical education in Norway?

The best part is the quality and amount of clinical classes we are able to have through the early years of medical education, especially in the 3^rd year where we have internal medicine and surgery. I have to point out that I only can speak for Oslo, as medical education in Norway differs a bit from the different faculties (Norway has 4 medical faculties; in Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and Tromsoe).

 

If you can change one thing of the medical education in Norway, what would that be?

I would like medical education in Norway to have more up-to-date lectures on global health all through our education. It should have been needless to point out that a profession which deals with so many different parts of the society should imprint a global perspective on us medical students, but the fact is that our education lacks this perspective. The lectures which exist are either of bad quality or exposed to us without giving us the proper context.

If I can mention a second thing I would also like inclusion of topics regarding patient safety and quality improvement, as medical education seems not to prepare us of the fact that healthcare is a system of different processes led by an inter-disciplinary team, and not only by the doctor or surgeon.

 

You are involved in IFMSA and especially during international meetings you meet a lot of different medical students from all over the world. What do you think is the biggest difference in study medicine in Norway and another country?

The biggest difference I think is the amount of time we actually have to study and at the same time do other things, but this might also be a myth for I’ve never met students travelling as much as the students I meet in the IFMSA.

Although I have been involved in the IFMSA for a several years, my knowledge of medical education in other countries is still scarce, so I can’t for sure point out the major differences in our education.

 

Describe your life in 2020…

In 2020 I hope I’ve had some clinical experience and that I have got a job I can feel passionate about. As working only as a doctor probably won’t do for me, I hope it will be a job which mixes clinical settings, global health and knowledge on patient safety and quality improvement, and a lot of travelling. Hmmm...sounds much like the life I am leading now...