New job after the end of the year

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I (Helena) will start a new job after the end of the year. Although this is mainly a travel blog, I thought I would tell you a little about what I do when I'm not travelling. Today I tell you about what I studied and where I worked. I offer a little insight into my everyday world, which has involved everything from research at Karolinska Institutet to issues of eating habits, physical activity, disability, accessibility and health equality.

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9 years of study at Ki

I have studied at Karolinska Institutet (KI) in three rounds. I am an occupational therapist and then studied public health science with a focus on nutrition and physical activity. When I did my doctorate, I wrote my thesis on a methodology to promote good eating and exercise habits among adults with intellectual disabilities.

• Leg. occupational therapist 1997-2000 (3 years, graduate level)
• Public Health Sciences 2003-2005 (2 years, Master's level)
• Doctor of Public Health 2011-2014 (4 years, postgraduate level)

My previous jobs

I worked for three years as an occupational therapist in psychiatry. During these years I worked at Huddinge University Hospital, at the eating disorder clinic in Huddinge and at a treatment centre for dual diagnosis patients (psychiatry and addiction) in Östertälje. After this, I decided to study public health and since then I have had two main employers: Stockholm County Council and Karolinska Institutet.

My years in the County Council

During my years in the County Council, there have been many reorganisations. I started at the "Centre for Public Health" in 2005. A few years later, the county's public health work was transferred to Karolinska Institutet (which is a state university) and I was given KI as my employer.

A few more years later they changed their minds and we had to move back to the county council, but now the centre changed its name to the (much more complicated) "Centre for Epidemiology and Community Medicine" (CES).

At CES, I had a permanent position until we got the crazy (?) idea to go Around Europe in a motorhome for a year. Then I didn't come back to the county council until this year, when I started working in the county council administration, as a strategist in the field of disability.

My years at KI

I was employed at KI, at the Department of Public Health Sciences, between 2009 and 2012. During this time, I also took a leave of absence from that particular department to pursue a PhD at another department at KI. Between 2011 and 2014, I was employed as a PhD student at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society.

When I came back from our motorhome trip, I took up a project position at KI and worked there throughout 2016. Now I remain as an adjunct in the research group Community nutrition and physical activity.

Why change jobs now?

I now work in the County Council's sustainability department, where we not only deal with environmental issues, but also social sustainability issues. We work at a strategic level (policy documents, monitoring, networks, consultative support, cooperation with interest groups, etc.) on issues relating to equality, gender equality, children's rights, national minorities and disability.

We target whole Stockholm County Council, which includes everything from healthcare to public transport, culture and regional planning. Around 45 000 people work in this huge organisation. plus all those who work in private organisations on behalf of the County Council. Through our activities, we meet over two million inhabitants who, for example, visit health centres or hospitals, travel by bus or metro, visit the concert hall (which is mainly financed by the county council) or move around the region ...

The funny thing is that while the other areas are represented by permanent posts, the disability area started as a project in 2017. The plan was to make the position permanent, but due to cutbacks, changes in management and an organisation with long decision-making processes, a decision has simply not been made yet.

Unfortunately, I don't know how the county council will organise the strategic work on participation and accessibility for people with disabilities after the end of December 2017. The only thing I know is that I cannot wait any longer for an answer.

New job from the beginning of the year

I've been sitting on my hands all autumn and haven't applied for any jobs. When I recently received a request for a project position starting in January 2018, I realised I couldn't refuse. Fortunately, it sounds like a fun new job! I will work on the evaluation of a method for how school nurses can talk to children and adolescents about obesity and will, among other things, interview children, adolescents, parents and school nurses.

Where is the job located? I'm going back to the Centre for Epidemiology and Community Medicine (CES)... The project is only for six months, but it could be good for us. We are planning to go on a longer campervan trip again. Not a whole year this time, but a few months. You're coming along, right?

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