Student blogs

Welcome! Helen Nguyen here. I’m the new Digital Ambassador for Health Informatics and I’d like to extend a warm, virtual hug to you all. I love to travel, hike, cycle, learn new languages, cook, sing and dance.

If you see me around campus, don’t be shy and say hi! I love a good chat and a big ol’ hearty laugh.

Now here’s my story:

From Oz

I was born and bred in Australia. Many of you may have guessed from my surname, yes, my parents hailed from Vietnam. I spent most of my life in Australia living and breathing the Aussie life. After high school, I studied a Bachelor’s in Pharmacy. And after 4 years, I graduated and spent the following three years as a community pharmacist in Australia.

To Denmark

I thought I was making a small impact on my community, but life just wasn’t hitting that ‘high’. I wanted to strip myself of all comforts and run absolutely wild. At the same time, I was curious about the social welfare system and high-quality healthcare in Scandinavia. So I quit my job, packed my bags, applied for a Working Holiday Visa and moved. Initially I wanted to move to Sweden. I thought it was the easiest country for me to gain my pharmacist license. But unfortunately, when I arrived on a brief ‘research’ trip at the end of winter, I was taken aback by the cold and darkness. So instead, I moved to rainy, cozy Copenhagen. It was a whirlwind adventure. It was the most difficult and most rewarding experience of my life. I hit rock bottom and climbed right back up. I made lifelong friends, and during my time there, I met my now-partner.

Off to Ireland

My partner got a job in Dublin and off we went. The first year in Dublin was dedicated to obtaining a pharmacist license in Ireland. After a lot of paperwork and a few exams, I succeeded and gained employment as a community pharmacist. This is where my passion for health informatics really blossomed. Over the years working as a community pharmacist in both Ireland and Australia, I felt that I had not been able to provide patients with the best care I believed I could give. I felt that a majority of my time was spent behind a computer navigating the dispensing and ordering system. I was frustrated and began to lose interest in the profession. After two years living in Dublin, my partner and I decided that it was time to move to his birth country, Sweden.

Hello Sweden and Karolinska Institutet

I needed to pave a pathway for myself. I thought about becoming a community pharmacist. However, after speaking pharmacists in Sweden, I felt the role was about the same wherever I went. Another legal system to learn, another culture to adapt your professional personality to, and another dispensing system to navigate. But again, I wanted something new. This is when I turned to Karolinska Institutet. While I was trying to figure out my path, I spoke to professionals who had graduated KI and worked at Karolinska hospital. They spoke very highly of the university. And when I searched KI Masters programme and read about Health Informatics, I knew instantly that the programme would be my first choice. If I could fix the problems I was having as a health professional, then maybe I could prevent other frustrated health professionals, like myself, from leaving their ever important role in improving the health of our society.

Fair play, Stockholm

I feel so at ease after moving to Stockholm. It’s a beautiful, wide city, that has intertwined itself seamlessly with nature. It suits my personality and I feel really settled here.

I hope to share more of my experiences in Stockholm and at Karolinska Institutet with you.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at Karolinska Institute or https://www.linkedin.com/in/helen-nguyen-539782aa/