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Evaluation of a student coming from Spain - AEF-UB

This is the information about the place of the Student Exchange Programme:

Apotheek Born info@apotheekborn.nl +31464856000

The Student Exchange Programme took place :
From 2005-08-08 to 2005-08-26

 - Application Procedure -
How did you find out about the exchange program?
I saw an advert in the faculty about the exchange, and then I looked for some more information. I also attended an informative meeting organized by the students of the association.

How was the application procedure?
Too complicated Easy and clear

comments: -

Did you get enough information about the Exchange conditions?
No yes

comments: I had would like to know some more information about the conditions of the exchange before the application. Every country should explain it in more detail in the web site.

What do you think of the IPSF Web Site?
Very unclear Very clear

comments: I didn’t visit it very often, but it seems clear.

 - Student Exchange Officer (SEO) -
How was the assistance provided by your SEO? Was it easy to get in contact with the SEO?
not filled in
comments: At the beginning it was more fluent, the assistance. But I still needed some more information…

Did you get an official invitation from the host SEO?
Yes
comments: But I had to insist a lot, because I was placed so in the South of Holland, quite far from the cities of the students. So I had to travel quite a lot and be persistent to get the meeting.

Did you get enough information about your exchange, visa requirements, vaccinations, etc?
No
comments: at the beginning, but yes after some research and asking for the information.

Did someone pick you up when you arrived in the country?
Yes

Did the SEP committee organise touristy excursions during your stay?
Yes

Did the SEP committee organise museum visits during your stay?
Yes

Did the SEP committee organise university visits during your stay?
No

Did the SEP committee organise excursions to other pharmacies or pharmaceutical companies during your stay?
No

Did the SEP committee take you to local student activities during your stay?
No
comments: I missed some more meetings and visits related with Pharmacy world. I had to be persistent to get the appointment. (I aware the main problem was the distance, but I really wanted to be more in touch)

Did those activities fulfil your expectations?
No Very much


 - Accomodation and board -
Was it easy to reach the place where you stayed?
No , very difficult Yes , no transport problems


Did you stay in a student residence, in a hotel or with a family during your traineeship?
In my own apartment, belonging to the host Pharmacist.

Did you feel at home at the place where you stayed?
Not at all Very much

comments: It was a comfortable place.

Did you have to pay for the accommodation?
No
comments: -

Did you get free or student price meals?
No

What did you do during your traineeship?
I usually went to the Pharmacy, and I helped them with the orders, prescriptions, medicine setting, formulas, preparations… I was able to develop some little projects, like a lipstick formulation, aromatherapy and essential oils, and research about the medicinal herbs of the area. I enjoyed asking and clearing my doubts about some Pharmacy topics, and we could discuss and compare our systems, points of view… This kind of “knowledge exchange was really valuable for me.

Was your employer interested in teaching you?
Not at all Very interested

comments: They were interested in it, but sometimes I had would like a more defined schedule and with more contents.

Do you think the work you did was interesting?
Not at all Very interesting

comments: Honestly, the less interesting was prime matters checking (testing over dated products). I didn’t agree the procedure and It was a little boring.

Do you think you learned enough during your traineeship?
Not at all Yes I do

comments: I put all my efforts to get a knowledge benefit from the traineeship.

Did the work correspond to the information that you received before the traineeship?
Not at all Yes

comments: I t wasn’t well definite at the beginning, so I didn’t know exactly what I was going to do once there. But in general it was ok.

Did you experience any communication problems during your traineeship?
Not at all Yes , many

comments: . The communication was really good from the first day.

Which language did you use?
English, always (some Spanish once or twice)

How many days a week did you work?
About four (or a little bit more) days a week

How many hours a day?
I stayed in the Pharmacy for the full time (from 9 am to 6 pm), but I had some free time and a flexible plan. houres a day

Was this too much?
Not at all Yes far too much


Did you get the opportunity to visit the country?
Not at all Yes more than enough


Did you get a wage?
No

Did the wage correspond to the information you received before the traineeship?
No
comments:

 - Final Evaluation -
Were the traineeship and visit as you expected?
Not at all Yes I am very


Would you advise other students to apply for this association's SEP?
Not at all Yes definitely


Do you have any suggestions how this association's SEP could be improved?
Maybe a more fluent way to communicate each other. For example, during the exchange I would had find useful to know in advance the email addresses of the other students involved in the SEP, or students from the country, from the association… And It also could be interesting to plan the activities, meetings, etc, just before coming.

 - Preparation -
How did you prepare for your traineeship?
Did you arrange a travel and/or malpractice insurance before your exchange?

Not an extra insurance, because I had already one in my country, useful during my stage in the Netherlands. Then I got my flights by Internet. I also looked for some maps, information, etc. in order to know something more about Holland ;-p

 - Arrival and reception -
Write something about getting there , about meeting the local students and finding the working place and the place where you stayed.
The host Pharmacist picked me up from the airport and showed me the apartment where I was going to live for 20 days. I was able to go to work by car, joining the other host Pharmacist who lived near from me. Sometimes I used the bicycle to go to the Pharmacy, depends on the availability. And “the bosses where kind with me picking me up from the train station after some of the excursions I did.

 - The place -
What was your accommodation like?
It was a little apartment (a room provided with kitchen, bed, table, chairs…) and a toilet. It was not luxury but I felt very comfortable there. I had the most important things I needed, I only had to buy the groceries, food…

 - The work -
Explain in detail what you did? What was the work like?
Once in the Pharmacy, I helped them with the orders, prescriptions, medicine setting, formulas, preparations, prime matters checking… I was able to develop some little projects, like a lipstick formulation, aromatherapy and essential oils, and research about the medicinal herbs of the area. Every day, I wrote an inform of all my activities done.

 - What did you learn? -
What did you learn?
I think I was able to get my main purpose: sharing with and learning from my Dutch Pharmacy colleagues; a real exchange of thoughts and points of view, which means a great enrichment for my personal expectations. We could compare our systems and ways to work, and it was nice to realize that we both have good and not so good things; I think this is also the key for both improving: to share.

 - Other visits or activities -
What else did you do during your stay? Which places did you visit?
Was it organised by the SEP committee or did you do it on your own?
Did you have to pay for these to the SEP committee? How much? Where there some other unexpected costs?

I did some visits by my own and some of them with somebody from the association, or with another exchanged friend of mine as well. I’m glad I could visit lots of places and cities in The Netherlands (Amsterdam, Texel, Leiden, where I met some nice people from the IPSF, Maastricht, Volendam, and Zaandam, where I was invited by my friend and they kindly offered me accommodation for two overnights, in the hospital where my friend was working, etc). Maybe I would had liked to meet more people from the IPSF-SEO… But I enjoyed it very much.

 - Recommendations/final conclusion -
Do you have any recommendations for other students? What is your final conclusion?
My final conclusion is very positive, and I’m really thankful to all the people who direct or indirectly have made the exchange possible. I recommend it for lots of reasons, but the main one is that, in my opinion, it’s very important to see “something more about Pharmacy, not only what you can read in a book or learn from a faculty lesson… An experience like this makes you increase not only your Pharmaceutical knowledge (what is important), but it also makes you grow as a PERSON (in all the meanings). I find it so interesting that I’m starting to think about being more involved with the association… ;-p