If you want to, you can. Isabel Morón, a paediatrician, and Alejandro Fernández, a family physician, took up Swedish two years ago. And now, with their C1 certificate in hand, they are both legal doctors in Sweden. But in addition to mastering the language, there is much more to going to another country. Read about their experiences in this interview.
By Hannu Arvio
Hannu: What came up so that you are now in Piteå, in the north, northern part of Sweden?
Isabel: In both cases, when we finished our degree, we started working in Andalusia, and the truth is that things are not as good as they could be. The contracts are a bit precarious, and we could see that even if we did our speciality there, things were still going to be a bit complicated. So we considered the option of going to do our speciality elsewhere and try to see if we liked it.
Hannu: And why Sweden?
Isabel: Well, the truth is that in my case, Sweden was not my first choice.
Alejandro: (Both laugh).
Isabel: My first choice was an English-speaking country, because, of course, it was easier. I already spoke English. But Alex convinced me little by little, and the truth is that everything Sweden has to offer is very good: good working conditions, opportunities and training. Good working conditions, opportunities and training.
Hannu: Alex, why did you start convincing her to go to Sweden?
Alejandro: Well, good question! One of the conditions I put to my parents when I started studying medicine was that I wanted to work outside Spain, and they told me that there was no problem. So since I started my studies, I looked for how to do the speciality in Denmark, Norway, Ireland, etc., and I found a blog of a family doctor who was Spanish. He had done his speciality in Spain and had moved to Sweden. He wrote about what it was like to live and work as a family doctor in Sweden. The working conditions, the type of care that could be provided, and the quality of life were great. It also had its cons, like the weather, coming from the south. The truth is that the moment came when I graduated and we started working as Isa said, and we asked ourselves: where are we going? We started looking at Ireland, England, Scotland, and in the end, we saw Sweden and said:
Isabel: Well, to Sweden!
Alejandro: And we began studying Swedish while working as doctors.
Hannu: So, at that time you started the project, was it a long time ago?
Alejandro: Well, two years ago.
Hannu: Two years, in fact, not so long ago, and you are already working there.
Isabel: We have been living here for nine months.
Alejandro: Indeed, we moved here in October.
Hannu: So, when you get down to it, there are results.
Alejandro and Isabel: Yes!
Alejandro: You have to dedicate time to it.
Hannu: And when you started with Swedish, at some point, did you have any doubts that it might not go anywhere?
Isabel: At the beginning, when I started to see so many letters that I had never seen before, with such a different pronunciation, I said to myself: This is not for me. I’m not very good at languages.
Alejandro: When we started with you, the first thing we did was to sign up for a one-month intensive course for beginner level A1. And it was every day a lot of hours, a lot of homework, and a lot of things to study, because it was very intensive.
Hannu: Was that at Institut Nordic?
Alejandro: We have always been at Institut Nordic. The first month was hard; we did the whole A1, and it was just enough. We were also in summer, working to cover all the vacations of our colleagues, that is, we did the classes while we were on duty, sitting, dressed in uniform, and suddenly we were called, because we worked in a rural health centre. We were called by 112, and we had to say in class: I’m going with the ambulance, I’m sorry, and we disconnected.
Hannu: Just what we don’t recommend, doing a crash course while working.
(All laugh).
Alejandro: Exactly, but we were very determined.
Isabel: Yes, in my case, it was a little irregular contact because of what Alex explained, but it was a very good contact. I noticed a huge difference between the first day I heard Sofia speak Swedish and the last day I listened to an audio in Swedish. I thought, ‘Now I can understand something.’
Alejandro: I remember an exercise we had to do, which was also very good and remembering it now is very funny. To record ourselves introducing ourselves in Swedish. Besides, it caught us on duty, each of us in different places, and we recorded it in our work clothes. And later, when we finished the course with Sofia, we watched the videos again, and you could see the difference in level that we had already achieved, living here in Sweden. Besides, we managed to do it in a year and a bit. The truth is that it impresses.
Hannu: And now your specialities are a paediatrician and a family doctor. So speaking Swedish is a must.
Isabel: Absolutely.
Hannu: You are not radiologists.
(Alejandro and Isabel laugh)
Alejandro: No, but still for any job in medicine, nursing or psychology, the Socialstyrelsen, which is the regulatory body here, requires you to have a C1 certificate of Swedish. You don’t just arrive and start working. You can work without C1 Swedish, but without the same responsibility and always under supervision. You have to find someone who wants to take care of you and tutor you. We started like that, we arrived without the C1, we had the B2, and we continued studying from Sweden.
Isabel: We continue through Institut Nordic.
Hannu: With the C1 certificate from the Institut Nordic, were you given the legitimisation?
Alejandro: Yes, it works perfectly.
Isabel: Within a week, we had been given the legitimisation.
Alejandro: They told us that it could take between one and two months, because there is also quite a problem with the certificates right now here, due to the volume of work they have. And in a week and a half, it was already there, I guess they say that to cover their backs a little bit. We didn’t know anyone who had presented the Institut Nordic certificate, and it worked perfectly.
Hannu: In fact, this is the first time, as far as we know, that someone has presented our certificate, and it works.
Alejandro: Well, it worked perfectly.
Isabel: No problem at all, they didn’t give us any problem.
Hannu: So, going back to your process, the first decision, which Isabel made a little bit forced, minimally from what I understand (everyone laughs), from that decision, working hard and studying, in two years, you are a legal doctor in Sweden.
Alejandro and Isabel: Yes.
Hannu: What has changed compared to the conditions you had in Spain?
Alejandro: Mainly, as I worked as a family doctor, I had my practice in Spain, and now I also have it here in Sweden. In Spain, I could see an average of 40 patients a day. I worked from 8 am to 3 pm non-stop, and there were 40 hours, plus emergencies that arose, because being a rural place, there were no other doctors. Before, I had 4 or 5 minutes per patient; now, I have 30 or 40 minutes. I work from 8h in the morning to 17h in the afternoon, with an hour for lunch in between.
Isabel: And two 15-minute breaks.
Alexander: And two fikas, which are very important.
Hannu and Isabel: Fika is the coffee break.
Alejandro: This is sacred here. These 15 minutes are mandatory. In addition, the whole health centre comes to have coffee and to talk.
Now I feel that I am the family physician I wanted to be. I have time to talk to my patients, and I can give them the right care.
Isabel: Yes, more or less, my concept is the same. The last two years I practiced in Spain I also had a pediatric practice in a health center, and I saw many patients daily with little time, always stressed, and here I have 30 minutes per patient, I can talk to them, the children are calmer in the office, because it is longer and then they relax. What I have gained above all is peace of mind and training. Here I have a tutor with me to whom I can ask questions, with whom I have tutorials every week and who helps me with training. That is a big advantage.
Alejandro: The organisation at the team level in the health centres has no comparison with Spain. We all participate as a team, both the nursing team and the medical team; it is a very well-oiled machine. And it is very noticeable.
Hannu: And this tranquillity at work is also reflected in your free time?
Alejandro and Isabel: Absolutely!
Isabel: Before, in Spain, we didn’t have free time; our free time was for studying.
Alejandro: To study Swedish and to sleep because we did 32 and 48-hour shifts, because there were no doctors.
Isabel: And here we have free afternoons, weekends, and time to continue our training, as well as time to get to know the city and meet with our friends. I live in peace and quiet.
Alejandro: We now have hobbies. For example, in winter we can go ice fishing. And now, in summer, we can go on weekends to the harbour to fish.
Isabel: Or to take a bath.
Hannu: I see you have a plan to be real Swedes!
Alejandro: Yes, that is the idea. We have signed a speciality contract for 6 years, and after working and training here, the idea is not to return to Spain. The idea is to stay here; we are very happy.
Isabel: Yes, we are very happy with the decision, to be honest.
Hannu: As I see that you have already gone to the frozen lake to fish and everything, then, do you have any goal to adapt to the society 100%?
Isabel: Our next short-term goal is to buy a house; housing is much cheaper here than in Spain.
Alejandro: We also live in the north of Sweden. It’s different in Stockholm than in Norrbotten (laughs with Isabel).
Hannu: Do you like the north? Have you been there during the winter too?
Isabel: We have lived through the winter.
Alejandro: We moved here in October, and we did a road trip, from Granada to Piteå, by car. It was 5 days, 1000km. every day. When we arrived, shortly after, in November, the first snow started to fall.
Isabel: And at the end of November, it was all white.
Alejandro: By the beginning of December, it was all set. The first time we saw an aurora borealis above our house, it was amazing.
Isabel: Yes (she remembers and smiles).
Alejandro: Or being at home in short sleeves and going out in the street, and it’s 20º below zero. To have to install an engine heater in the car to be able to take it. To go to work and then there, warm up the car to come back.
Isabel: But, I would still say it has been a nice winter. Places are very well conditioned, so it is not cold. It is very comfortable at home, at work, and in the malls. And then, as the Swedes say, it’s not cold outside, it’s just that you’re not wearing a warm coat. (Alejandro and Isabel laugh) And that’s exactly how it is.
Alejandro: Here, I have to say that we laugh a lot at the southern people of Sweden, with the “snow chaos.” When it snows in Stockholm, everything comes to a standstill. And here, we have been with a meter and a half of snow.
(Hannu smiles).
Isabel: And life goes on.
Alejandro: The snowploughs go by, and there is zero problem, as if it were sunny.
Hannu: When you go to Spain, do you usually go to Granada?
Isabel: We went once on our own, as we didn’t want to go back all at once in the first few months. We did a route, we went to Granada, to Madrid, to see my siblings and to Mallorca to see my parents.
Hannu: What is the first thing you tell your loved ones about life in Sweden?
Alejandro: My parents were very worried about us moving here; everyone has the concept that we are going to move here. We thought that people had no contact with anyone, that no one would talk to us. That we were going to be isolated, and we were surprised to realise that here in the north, people are very welcoming. We would walk down the street, and people would help us. They heard us speaking Spanish and they would come up to us in the restaurants and talk to us in Spanish, because it is a very common language there and very well studied.
Isabel: And not only that, they have always tried to help us, they have made everything much easier for us. We became a group of friends without any problems. We have plans every weekend. And that’s one thing that terrified our families, you’re going north and you’re going to be alone and isolated, they told us.
Alejandro: But my parents came for Christmas, and they spent almost two weeks here. We spent New Year’s Eve together and ate grapes here in Piteå.
Hannu: In low light and very cold.
(Alejandro and Isa laugh).
Alejandro: It is true that in winter it gets dark very early. For example, the sun rises at nine in the morning, and it gets dark at two in the afternoon. But since it’s all white, it’s all snowy,
Isabel: It is very nice.
Alejandro: The light from the street lamps is reflected, the light everywhere is reflected, and the truth is that it is not daylight, but there is light on the street.
Isabel: And also, there is a very nice custom here, and that is that people put lights in their windows. And in all the windows of all the little houses, there is a little light, either hanging from above or a little lamp, so that gives a very warm feeling (both say warmth).
Alejandro: My parents, before we were here, could not believe it when we talked to them and they saw us in short sleeves. They told us, but how are you going to be in short sleeves, when we are seeing that you are there at 20 degrees below zero! And when they came, they were amazed and told us, we understand perfectly well that you don’t want to come back.
Hannu: Is there anything in Swedish society that you think you will struggle with?
Alejandro: Yes, the Swedes are very correct people.
Isabel: And very welcoming, but to a limit (she represents it with her hand). They don’t talk about anything personal.
Alejandro: They don’t get into politics, they don’t say anything that might make someone feel uncomfortable. So, that makes the first contacts with colleagues very shocking, because you see that people do not want to go deeper into a conversation with you because you are a foreigner, and you may be embarrassed or unable to speak or communicate. There were many people who said to us, especially nurses, but you speak Swedish! And we, of course, if I have my practice and I’m seeing my patient list, of course, I speak Swedish. And they don’t expect it, it’s a minority language, people don’t expect you to speak Swedish. And it’s a different approach to people.
Isabel: It is much slower and more progressive. In Spain, maybe we open the doors of the house very quickly, and here, not so much. They are polite, they are correct, they are kind, the conversation is fluid, but there is a limit to how far you can go. And until they get to know you, they don’t let you pass that limit.
And then, for me, maybe the time issue. Here they are relaxed for everything, I always go much faster, and I want to do things faster (he laughs).
Alejandro: We are used to doing everything fast and in a hurry in Spain.
Isabel: It will be done here, but it will be done slowly and well.
Alejandro: Indeed. We are going to do it well; that takes longer, but we are going to do it very well. Sometimes that can be stressful.
Isabel: Yes, it stresses me out a lot.
(Both laugh)
Hannu: So these are the little culture clashes there.
(Both affirm)
Hannu: And at work, is there more of an international atmosphere? More workers from outside Sweden.
Isabel: Yes, in the hospital, there is quite a lot. For example, in Sunderby Hospital, which is in Luleå, half of the pediatric service consists of people coming from abroad. People from Russia, from Greece, from Austria, from Poland, and so on. It is quite international.
And this is the north. In the north, the presence of people from outside is less. People from abroad tend to go further south because of the contrast. They go to Stockholm, then to Gothenburg, and finally to Malmö.
Alejandro: They are much more international cities than Piteå or Luleå.
At my health centre, right now, I am the only foreigner; all the others are Swedish. But well, I haven’t noticed any difference, from minute one, I feel totally integrated.
Hannu: I am going to repeat your path once again. Two years ago, Isabel was convinced by Alejandro to study Swedish.
(Both laugh and affirm).
Hannu: You do an intensive course at Institut Nordic with the medical clothes, and after studying more, in a year and a bit, you are already in Sweden. Impressive.
Alejandro: Yes, but you have to be interested. Swedish is not a language that you just put in your head and soak it in. You have to practice a lot, especially speaking and listening to Swedish.
There are so many dialects, and it is one of the things we were not prepared for. For example, understanding someone from Skåne is difficult because they have a very special dialect. It’s a different cadence of speech, so you have to listen.
Isabel: At first, it may sound like a very abrupt and cutting language, but then it is even nice to listen to.
Alejandro: The first few times we heard it, we said: it’s literally the language of the Vikings (everyone laughs). It sounds cutting, crude, and very different from the Latin languages. But good.
Isabel: Then, it’s even beautiful.
Hannu: I see that it has not cost us that much either, in effort, yes, but not in time.
Alejandro and Isabel: Not in time.
Alejandro: It does not have a grammar…
Isabel: … hyper complex,
Alejandro: like Spanish, for example. It is simpler and a very grateful language because as soon as you complete A1, A2, and B1…
Isabel: … you can communicate a little bit, you already know the verb tenses, the first levels are very grateful.
Alejandro: Then it’s when the exceptions start, and that’s when you really have to start studying. But it’s not a language like Finnish, which we find more difficult than Swedish.
Hannu: I am a Finnish teacher (everyone laughs).
Isabel: The first levels of Swedish are grateful, you immediately feel you can say something.
Alejandro: Yes, especially being able to communicate.
Isabel: I can order a coffee, go to a restaurant and order what I want.
Alejandro: The first job interview we had was a year and two months ago, we did it online with the managers of the health centre where we started, where I am now. At that time, we were finishing the B1 and the B2. With that, we were able to understand them perfectly. We sent them our résumé and a letter of motivation in Swedish, but they wanted to see that we spoke and understood the language. I think they were surprised (Isabel reaffirms). I think we had our first interview in May, and from there, they interviewed us several times over a period of time.
Isabel: At the beginning of September, we were already here. We had a face-to-face interview, and by October, we were moving in.
Alejandro: In addition, we were scheduled to work with them for two days. A test to see if we could communicate perfectly with the patients. They were evaluating us. At that time, we were starting the B2; we did not yet have the C1, and we were able to understand the patients perfectly.
Isabel: Yes, it is a grateful language.
Alejandro: Yes.
Hannu: Well, very good, I am very happy for you (both smile).
