Stockholms Brukarförening och Svenska Brukarföreningen har under augusti haft en sjuksköterska från Tyskland som praktikant.
Här skriver han själv lite om sina upplevelser och varför han ville praktisera hos oss.
I´m Sebastian and work in Germany/Cologne as a nurse in a hospital for detoxication since 3 years. I work there with mostly heroin users. Most of them inject it. But that isn´t the only drug they use. Most of them consume Benzodiazepine or Alcohol, too.
The users come to us if they wanna stop using or sometimes to just make a pause. They stay in our hospital for ca 2 or 3 weeks. They can get MTD, Polamidon and Subutex. Polamidon is for users who get an allergic reaction against MTD. Often after the visit in our hospital they go in a substitution for MTD, Polamidon or Subutex. Then they have to go daily to the place to get it. Sometimes, but not very often, they can get it for „take home“. If the users have a job they can come to an early time in the morning.
Now, between the 8th and the 19th august I make an internship by the SDUU. I wanted to do it knowingly in a „User Organisation“ and not in a hospital or other medical places, because I work on the other side. I wanted to see how the users are organised, especially in another country like Sweden. For me it was important and interesting to look over their shoulders while they work.
That internship is a very important experience for me because i can see it from a completly different perspective. If i have the chance to look at it from the user´s side i´ll better understand them. I think other people in a medical job should do the same and apply for a internship like this.
Sebastian Steiner