Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
Yes, I have a degree in social anthropology from the University of Bergen and started working at Østfold University College in 2011. After my doctorate I have, among other things, worked on the development of the new doctoral program that is about to start now, called Digitalisation and society. And I have been an associate professor at the Faculty of Health, Welfare and Organisation since august 2022.
The doctoral program has just been approved?
Yes, it was approved this autumn by Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education. Writing the application was a lot of work and gave me a good overview of the professional environments, the research groups and the academic staff who work with digitalisation. So, in that connection, I was asked to be the coordinator for one of the main subjects in English for Bachelor students enrolled at the Department for Health, Welfare and Organization – which is also open to exchange students.
Digitalisation in the welfare sector
Tell us about the courses?
The courses are for all Bachelor students in Child Welfare, Nursing, Social Educator Training, Social Work and Work and Welfare Studies, which includes more than 400 students. There are four subjects open to international students. All lectures are in English. All the syllabus is in English. The main subject is called “Digitalisation and interdisciplinary collaboration in health and welfare services”, which I am helping to organize. Then there are three other courses: “Person centred care”, which focuses on person-centred care and what it entails; “Comparative welfare systems”, which focuses on placing the Nordic welfare system in an international context – and then there is the subject I am responsible for “Digital opportunities in health and welfare”, which is a continuation and in-depth study of the main subject.
Can you tell us a bit about the subject you are coordinating?
It is about how digitalisation affects patients and users in the health and welfare sector. How it affects the work of professionals and service providers. How it can involve new ways of delivering services. And how it affects the relationship and communication between professionals, service users and patients. So, it has a lot to do with ethics, right? How should we talk to our patients who need services? What kind of services do they get? Will the digitalisation lead to new inequalities? So it is about equality, justice and ethical considerations that must be considered when moving from analogue to digital everyday life.
“Will the digitalisation lead to new inequalities? So it is about equality, justice and ethical considerations that must be considered when moving from analogue to digital everyday life.”
Why, according to you, should exchange students take this course?
It is academically relevant, also in an international context. Digitalisation is not something that only happens in Norway. But in Norway we have been far ahead in digitalisation. Norway is a rich country, and we have access to a lot of technology. And we have probably had authorities who wanted to push the technological development, because we need to save money. It is about the rights of and the relationship between the population, the citizens, and the state. But it can also be a good introduction to the digital systems of health care in Norway.
Simulating healthcare
What advantages does Campus Fredrikstad have?
Campus Fredrikstad has the great advantage that it is located inside the city centre. We have student accommodation which is situated very close to the college. We have many facilities that are great for students. And I think there is a social environment here because it is in the city centre, so the students tend to stay out longer because they don’t have to drive in the evening. For the healthcare students, we have an enormous simulation centre, which is unique in Norway, with all the latest technology – where you can get training in all areas of healthcare.
Tell us a little about the simulation centre?
The simulation centre opened in September 2021, and it is 2,000 square meters. It is huge. There they have a fully equipped operating room, hospital beds and they have a room for simulating home nursing care which looks like the home of a senior citizen. They have all the latest of medical technology, which was donated from hospitals. They have dolls that behave like patients, where you can take measurements. There is something they call a communication room where you can practice meeting children and families in a child protection context, for example. The latest addition is something called an immersive room for virtual reality to increase the interaction and reality experience in simulation training. It’s a kind of black box, where you can do other simulations using video.
That sounds amazing. And the simulation centre is available to health care students who come as exchange students?
Yes, the simulation centre is truly amazing. And it is very actively used in nursing education for instance. So, students can book these facilities themselves, and practice in the simulation room.
« I think that one of the great advantages of working here at Østfold University College is that we have a very large diversity in our student group. We have students with origins in almost every part of the world.»
What are you passionate about as a teacher?
I think it's a lot of fun to meet students who are in professional training, because many of them are out working already. So that, as an anthropologist with a rather theoretical approach, I get to meet students whose everyday life is the professional environment we are talking about. And they often come up with examples that I can learn from. I think that one of the great advantages of working here at Østfold University College is that we have a very large diversity in our student group. We have students with origins in almost every part of the world.
Time and professional knowledge
Can you tell us a bit about your own research?
Time is something I have focused on in my research lately. How hospitals are regulated and function according to different time rhythms. The patients have their own rhythm, where things happen when it has to happen. Some patients can’t eat, even if the meal is there, because they are sick. They have their own rhythm. And the hospital is also running according to a very clock-like rhythm, where time is money. And then the professions have their rhythms based on their knowledge. My general focus in my research has been centred around professional knowledge and how this changes and is challenged in a healthcare system where efficiency and performance measurement are prioritized. Recently, I have joined a few projects in research groups that are about digitalisation in the health and welfare sector, so that is where I do most research now. In one of the research groups we are writing a book called Lost in digital translation, among other things.
Any closing words?
I hope that we can get more exchange students to come and experience what we have to offer. The past few years we have only had a few exchange students at the Faculty of Health, Welfare and Organisation. But we still speak English in class. So, everything is open and ready for you. We will welcome you.