Denmark: Brooke Manteufel
Program: UW Cancer Care Across Cultures in Denmark, Winter Intersession
Major: Neurobiology
What is your most memorable experience from your program?
My most memorable experience from the Cancer Care Across Cultures program in Denmark was visiting hospitals. One visit that stood out to me was visiting the maternity ward at the hospital and talking with the medical students. This experience was one of our first days in Denmark and showed the stark differences between healthcare in the United States and Denmark. I was very grateful to be able to walk through the hospital, talk to students, and learn about the workplace culture for medical professionals. In general, each hospital visit was very memorable because each highlighted a different aspect of caring for cancer in different healthcare systems.
At Herlev Hospital, we were able to compare differences in cancer research in Denmark versus the United States. At the midwife visit, I could see the stark contrast between patient care in the US compared to in Denmark. Our hospital visit in Radiology helped me learn more about the technology needed for cancer care. Overall, the entire program was memorable in the way it helped me form connections and learn about how healthcare systems affect cancer care.
What did you learn about yourself or the world because of your experience?
Before this program, I had never learned about global health. This program highlighted how complex of an issue healthcare (or more specifically, cancer care) is. The experience really opened my eyes about how complex cancer care is across different countries, even in developed countries. I learned about funding, screening, treatment, and follow-up care for cancer patients on a global scale. Something that stood out to me was how building a sustainable workforce in low or middle-income countries can vastly improve a country’s ability to treat cancer patients. Funding and equipment is only one aspect of cancer care that needs to improve in low or middle-income countries and I feel like I learned a lot about the global cancer burden. A large part of that learning also included learning about how different healthcare systems impact treatment.
This experience really opened my eyes about how complex cancer care is across different countries, even for developed countries. I learned about funding, screening, treatment, and follow up care for cancer patients on a global scale.
How were your program academics similar or different from taking classes at UW-Madison?
The academics during this program varied a lot from my classes at UW. For example, this program relied on guest lectures, field trips, and discussions. I actually really enjoyed the guest lectures and field experiences. I think learning a wide variety of topics from different lecturers was one of my favorite aspects of the program. I learned a wide variety of things from the lectures, and the field learning consisted of visiting museums, hospitals, and more. I feel like this program focused more on learning through comparison and discussion. My classes at UW-Madison are more lecture-based and obviously don’t have built-in field experiences like CCAC did. The field experiences also helped me see how the content we learned in lectures is actually implemented.
What is your advice for someone considering your program?
My advice to anyone considering this program is to make comparisons and be inquisitive. A lot of my learning and takeaways from this program came from comparing America with Denmark, focusing on the differences in cancer care, healthcare types, and treatment outcomes. Even comparing Denmark or America to low/middle income countries helped me learn a lot about how different aspects of healthcare can fit together to affect cancer care. As for being inquisitive, either thinking critically about lectures or asking questions can help you gain a lot more from this experience than merely attending and listening to lectures. Lastly, a piece of advice is to be flexible and be open to learning a wide variety of things or hear from many different perspectives.