Malin Gälldin, Nursing programme, La Trobe University, Australia

My name is Malin Gälldin and I studied my fifth semester, third year nursing program at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia.

I had travelled a bit after I finished high school and I just loved to see new places and to meet new people. So, when I started to study at JU I knew I wanted to study abroad for one semester if I got the opportunity. I chose Australia because I wanted an English speaking country. Australia is beautiful, it has a lot to offer and you can see and experience a lot without leaving the country.

During my semester I took four courses, Health priorities B, Acute illness B, Indigenous & intercultural health and Nursing patients with chronic illness. To study in Australia was different, we had all four courses at the same time, all lectures were online and every now and then we met in smaller groups of 20 people and received cases where we, for example, had to come up with reasonable diagnoses and treatments. I also had five weeks of placement which was tough since it’s different and a lot to take in, but I learnt a lot from it and it made me grow, both as a nurse to be and also as a person.

 Before we went to Australia, we got in touch with a man called Fergus who was one of the nursing teachers. He was the one we could contact if we had any questions regarding essays, placement, exams, everything. He was also the person we could contact before our arrival and answer our questions.

We were five girls from JU who decided to look for an apartment together in the CBD (city). It is possible to apply for an apartment at La Trobe campus but the university is located approximately 40min from CBD, and we nursing students had our classes at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in the city. So, we decided to find something on our own in the city instead of staying at campus. We looked at Gumtree which is like Blocket.se and we found an amazing two bedroom apartment where we could stay all together.

It is quite expensive to live in Australia, however, by cooking food on your own most of the days and by prioritizing it is possible to travel, see and do the things you’d like to do.

I’m very happy I went to Australia to study and I’m satisfied with La Trobe’s school system. Even though it was tough at times with several essays and placements, I’m happy I’ve done it and I’ve developed both my essay and English skills.

During the semester we had some time free from school so we went to Bali one week and did a road trip on the west coast for one week. I can really recommend the west coast. We snorkeled with manta rays, saw dolphins, experienced beautiful scenery and drove quad bikes on the sand dunes.

If you’re going to Australia I recommend you start with all paperwork as soon as possible because there’s a lot to fill in and there’s several deadlines to remember. You might find it overwhelming when you get there but just take it easy, meet with Fergus or whoever you’ll have as a contact person and everything will be sorted out within the first couple of weeks. I can also recommend that you travel and see as much as you can while you’re there because it is so worth it!

If you have any questions you can contact me on my email: malin.galldin@hotmail.se