Take the opportunity – do an international postdoc. Short and sweet, this is researcher Hanna Falk’s clear message to anybody who gets the chance.
This is part 2 of a series of films about Sahlgrenska Academy staff who are doing or have done a postdoc in a foreign country.
Hanna Falk works at the unit for neuropsychiatric epidemiology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy. In 2011, she moved to USA for a postdoc at Duke University. She had been dreaming of coming to a top-ranked U.S. university ever since she started her doctoral studies. The two years at Duke gave her experiences that will last a lifetime.
‘I got to know and work with Professor Ruth Anderson, who is a big name in nursing research.’
Hanna Falk sees this contact as the best thing that happened during her stay in USA, along with attending several large research seminars where she had an opportunity to talk to some of the best scientists in her field – municipal elderly care.
‘I learned to work with mixed method together with Professor Anderson, and case study research. I then brought it home to our institute, which feels important.’
She also experienced the intense work culture at Duke.
‘You work at least 15 hours a day, bring your computer everywhere and are always connected. The hierarchy is another difference. You have a different respect for senior professors. Sometimes I forgot to say Sir and Ma’am, but they were usually fine with it since they knew I was from Sweden.’
Did you have any problems?
‘Postdocs don’t make much money in other countries. I wasn’t really prepared for all the expenses every month, like for having to rent a car to go places. It was really tight money-wise.’
Any advice you would like to share?
‘Remember that it may take some time before the research work actually starts. I brought work from Sweden and finished part of a study in the first two weeks at Duke before things started rolling. It is also important to check out the researchers’ courses at the university. As a postdoc you can take those courses without getting a grade. They are often excellent courses.’
Anything else you would like to tell others who get the opportunity to do a postdoc abroad?
‘Take the opportunity! The worst thing that can happen is that you have to go back to Sweden.’
