Book: Percy Jackson and the Olympians

After getting back from Finland and Russia I didn’t have much to do. I work for BYU and they didn’t schedule me till Summer term, which was two weeks after I got back. Ergo, I had a lot of time on my hands. I don’t generally read for pleasure during the school year because I’m constantly reading for my other classes so I took the opportunity to read the first Percy Jackson book by Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief. 
Let me preface by saying that I have always been fascinated by Greek/Roman mythology. I would even say any kind of mythology or theism interested me. I’ve learned a little of the Asgardian mythology and the Egyptian theism as well. However, I’ve always had an affinity for the Greek mythology and it’s effects are very prevalent in our society. References are all around us. We might hear a phrase like “By Jove, I think she’s got it!” or hear of a substance called an aphrodisiac, we call a self-absorbed person narcissistic and person’s weakness is their Achilles heel. You get the idea. I’ve enjoyed learning the stories of where all these things come from and the Percy Jackson books do a good job of telling these stories in a fun way.
I’m not going to go through the story of the Lightning Thief or the four other books, which I read in a week. Let me just say they were very entertaining books would that I highly recommend. What I think I most enjoyed about these books was the manner in which the author mixed the modern world with the world of the Greek Pantheon and their influence. Monsters were archetypes and resurface after a certain amount of time, therefore beasts like the minotaur came back again and again. There was also a mist that obscured the eyes of normal mortals so they couldn’t see the “truth” of the Greek monsters and gods as they mingled in our world. I found it amusing that the gods hadn’t really changed in 3000 years. They still fell in love with mortals, messed with their lives and believed that they were acting for humans’ benefit. In the end of the books the gods had to learn a lesson from humans, an interesting twist.
I very much enjoyed the books and again I recommend them to anyone looking for an interesting and instructional read. These books rekindled my interest in Greek mythology and may spark an interest in you!

More: Russia pt. 2

In Russia I learned a lot about their healthcare system in the short time I was there as I discussed in my previous post. However, I was able to enjoy many of the sights available in St. Petersburg. We watched Romeo and Juliet at the Marinsky Theater, toured the Hermitage, walked through the fountains of Peterhoff, tossed coins at the Hare monument near the Peter and Paul Fortress on Enisaari, was awestruck at the Church of the Spilled Blood and St. Isaac’s Cathedral. We got to see a lot of St. Petersburg while there, as you can tell. It was an incredible experience and I’d like to share some of my favorite pictures from those moments.

More: Russia pt. 1

While I had the privilege of visiting Finland for about 19 days I also had the amazing opportunity to stay in St. Petersburg, Russia for 5 days. While there we learned about the culture and healthcare system of the country just as we did in Finland. Russia has a socialist healthcare system but it works very differently than Finland’s. There are almost as many doctors as nurses in Russia which was a surprise to me. Largely that is due to the public opinion of nurses. If you’re not sure what I mean Google ‘Russian Nurse’ and you’ll understand; children, don’t try that at home or anywhere else. Also, the country is much larger and resources are not evenly distributed. That causes problems because taxes raised in the area directly affect how much money there is for healthcare. The regions of Russia with more oil and other natural resources sustain a much higher quality of care. It’s unfortunate but very true.
I’d like to touch on the nursing profession in Russia again. We were given the opportunity to visit with the president of the Russian Nurses Association and some of the faculty and students of the St. Petersburg College of Medicine. One of the most fascinating things I learned from those moments was the importance of professionalism. Those who have chosen to practice nursing in Russia usually feel like they have a calling to do so. They really want to make a difference in people’s lives. Because the stigma that nursing has there nurses aren’t given a political voice, they don’t have the power to bring about the changes that will increase the quality of care they can provide. This is where the Nurses Association comes in. They are trying desperately to rally the nurses across the country to come together as one voice. Here in the United States the American Nurses Association has a very strong political voice and has made many important and vital changes to healthcare as we know it and will continue to do so. When in Russia nurses are listened to I have a strong feeling that healthcare there can be an example to the world of quality and change.
I’ll admit, there have been times during school that I have questioned my professor’s emphasis on professionalism. Now I understand what it would be like if there wasn’t professionalism in nursing. I would postulate that nursing would still consist of emptying bedpans, wiping bums and following every order from the doctor. That type of nursing was appropriate in its time but currently nurses are much more respected. And as such we have the potential to do so much for patients because they trust us.
I guess what I’m trying to explain is that I learned a great deal about Russia and about myself while in St. Petersburg. I learned a lot and had a great time. This last picture has nothing to do with anything I’ve said so far, it just makes me smile.

More: Finland pt. 3

While in Finland, specifically Savonlinna, I had the opportunity to follow a few nurses, a doctor, and a paramedic as well as discuss with them their professions and the Finnish healthcare system. It was a fascinating experience for many reasons. The Finnish healthcare systems is a socialist system based on the Beveridge model. Therefore, medical professions are regulated in many ways by the government. Since we are going through reform here in the United States I thought it would be intriguing to learn about a social healthcare system, especially in light of Obamacare which definitely leans towards socialism. I found that I liked many aspects of socialist healthcare but I don’t think that Americans would accept it generally.

As a side note I want to mention that education in Finland is free. Students take aptitude tests to see where they will succeed and to find out what their interests are so they can be directed to programs that will best suit them. Explaining that education is free is important because salaries are regulated somewhat by the government. Think if in America only salaries were regulated and medical education continued to be as exorbitantly expensive as it is – none would want to be a doctor!
So we know that the system is socialist and education is free. Continuing on to how the system works. The country is divided into districts, each of which takes care of the residents in their respective areas. Every year the districts submit a bid to the government detailing how much they will spend on healthcare. In this bid the district best estimates the amount that will be spent to pay the healthcare workers, to provide needed medical supplies and facilities and for all other healthcare expenses. The government then provides the funds to the districts to use. That is how healthcare is funded.

The population in Finland focuses a great deal on health promotion and disease prevention. This greatly decreases the total cost of healthcare because people are not going to the doctor as frequently for acute or chronic illness. Public health nurses also are much more important and involved. They follow a woman through pregnancy, a baby throughout his or her childhood, workers during their careers and the elderly till they die. Basically there is a nurse available to you at any and all points of life. Nurses are dependable, knowledgeable and efficient thus decreasing the cost of healthcare. Not all Finns eat healthily or exercise frequently but it is much more common than America. Food is simpler and more hardy. Public transportation is well organized and most people use it instead of buying their own car. Interaction with nature is a large part of Finnish culture which means people are outside a lot more. There are, however, some large scale problems. Most people drink and it is common for people to smoke. These two risk factors lead to a lot of kidney, liver and cancer problems. HIV also creates a large strain on the healthcare system although it is not terribly common.

So there is my quick description of the healthcare system in Finland. I liked that no matter where you were in life you were being followed by a competent healthcare worker, mostly nurses. I also like the emphasis on a healthy lifestyle and on good nutrition. When we were talking to a couple of public health nurses about prenatal care we asked if they often prescribed or suggested mothers take folic acid or multivitamins. They looked at us like we were crazy and said, “No, we just eat healthy food.” I believe that if in the US we focused more on prevention and healthy living instead of overtreating and overmedicating our healthcare system would not have the massive and complex problems we are facing now. So go for a walk, eat more vegetables and get a colonoscopy!

More: Finland pt. 2

Here are some more pictures from my adventures in Finland. After being in Helsinki for about 5 days (with travel and all time was a little hard to keep track of initially) we went to the city where we spent the largest portion of our trip. It is a beautiful little city called Savonlinna. It is an absolutely gorgeous town of 20,000 people or so. It's on of the many cities that sits on the shores of Lake Saimaa. There are many things about Savonlinna that warrant a visit but two stand out. One is the castle, Olavinlinna, and the other is the annual Opera Festival. We weren't there during the opera festival but we did get to tour the castle. I've always been in love with castles and medieval times so I was super excited to tour my first castle.

Let me just say a few words about our hostess, Leena (lay'-nah). She is a physician who has a private practice in the main level of her beautiful home. She allowed 12 of us to invade her home for 14 days. She met us at the train station and gave us all a hug and called us by name. Now that's hospitality! I must say, if it hadn't been for Leena we would not have had nearly as many cultural experiences as we did. She showed us all around Savonlinna, taught us about sauna, swimming in nearly freezing lakes, the endangered Lake Saimaa seals and much more. I will never forget her or her family for their amazing support while we were in Savonlinna.

I'll post more about the things we did while in Savonlinna later but here are some pictures of the city. I loved Savonlinna and would go back in a heartbeat. Absolutely beautiful!

Finland pt. 1

I’m back!
Never thought you’d see another posting on this blog, did ya?
I’ve had some amazing adventures this summer and they’re not over, so before things get super crazy I thought I’d start sharing.
I had the fantastic opportunity, thanks to my beautiful wife and BYU, to go to Finland and Russia for nearly a month to learn about different cultures and healthcare systems. This study abroad is part of the nursing curriculum at BYU. The students in this class were spread out to Tonga, Ghana, Ecuador, Finland/Russia, Urban/VA population, Utah refugees, Utah At-Risk population, Taiwan, Navajo Nation and India. I’m sure all the groups would say the same, but my group definitely had the best experience.
I think the whole trip will have to be spread out over a few posts because we did a lot and learned a lot. I don’t have the focus to type up a huge summary nor the mental capacity to condense it all into a short summary. So here are some pictures from the first few days of our trip. We flew from Chicago to Copenhagen, then to Helsinki. We stayed a few days in Helsinki to adjust to the time change and get some cultural experiences. We also visited Tallinn, Estonia for most of a day while in Helsinki.

The whole group right outside the Helsinki Airport (our last member is taking the photo)

This is half an archway leading into old Tallinn. I thought it humorous that underneath the small arch you can see a McDonalds. Typical.

Me and Jean Sibelius. Sibelius, through his music, helped Finland form a national identity when it was trying to gain independence from Russia at the turn of the 20^th century.

I just had to include this one, it has my name on it!