Medical student Lina alternates training with a job as an operating assistant

Only one surgery was needed for medical student Lina Landegren to get stuck.

"It's a great feeling and very fascinating to assist," she says. The first time I came into the hall it felt really fun and I didn't want to leave!

She attends the fifth semester of the medical program in Örebro and is one of about ten medical students who work extra as an operating assistant at the orthopedic surgeon at Lindesberg's laser.

It all started as a pilot project in 2018 following suggestions from Danish orthopedist Bjarne Lund-Petersen, who works at the University Hospital in Örerbo, USÖ.

- In Denmark, it is very common for medical students to assist during surgeries, but in Sweden it does not occur almost at all, he notes. I think the method is good and suggested that we introduce this as well.

At the orthopedic doctor, the Surgical Committee contacted the doctor's program and Lina Landegren was one of the students who raised her hand.

- Now this is a permanent business and we are about ten people trying to help and cover the need in Lindesberg, she says. This year alone I have assisted in more than a hundred surgeries and this is something that I would have received to a lesser extent and very late if I had just completed the training.

Every weekday, one of the students from Örebro is to assist with surgery where hip or knee prostheses are inserted. But even though it provides routine and knowledge, it is an extra job that will work together with the studies. The longer the education goes, the harder it will be to catch up.

- During the internships, it becomes difficult to combine with anything else, says Lina Landegren. But I still think this is so fun so I should try.