Problematic Interns

Akershus University Hospital (Ahus) has registered problems with interns coming to the hospital from abroad. In a letter to the county medical officer and the University of Oslo head of section Jan Erik Berdal reports that the hospital has received a number of interns who lack both fundamental medical knowledge and the necessary command of Norwegian to fulfill their duties in a satisfactory manner. He points out that while the hospital can evaluate language skills when it hires staff, it is the University of Oslo which evaluates interns\' knowledge of Norwegian. While EEA students are obliged to pass a Norwegian test, there are no national requirements as to level of medical knowledge, as the medical training in EEA countries is assumed to be on a par.

Several students at the University of Oslo have had to break off field trips and cancel study trips to China due to fears related to the SARS epidemic. Fear of quarantine upon their return to Europe has induced both the martial arts group OSI Kung Fu and postgraduate student Unn Målfrid Rolandsen to respectively cancel and shorten journeys to China.