During our forensic psychiatry placement in in Bristol, we learned a lot. On the one hand we were able to improve our knowledge of mental health care. But, we learned so much more than that: life in a shared flat, learning our way around in a new city abroad (yes, we did get lost more than once, many thanks at this point to Google Maps without whom we probably would not have found anything!), what the British think of punctuality (it is definitely not as important to them as it is to Germans) and the kindness with which we were greeted on the wards.
We were not able to do much on our own on the wards, due to safety precautions. However, these were very important in order to keep everyone safe, not only staff but the service users as well. However, everyone made sure that we still got to see a lot. We attended patient care reviews, went on trips within the community, and we were allowed to work shifts on other wards that we were interested in.
Because of the twelve and a half hour shifts we only had to work 3-4 days per week. In the remaining free time we discovered Bristol and the surroundings. For instance, we visited the Suspension Bridge, the SS Great Britain (very impressive and definitely worth having a look at if you are in Bristol) and the Cheddar Gorge Cave (the cheese is really delicious there).
It has been a memorable time during which we experienced so many wonderful things
Rieke and Kimberley
