Students from De Montfort University, Leicester (DMU) are travelling to Amsterdam to learn how Dutch health experts tackle issues of sexual health, drug use and birth control.More than 140 students are set to fly to the Dutch capital today for a week-long trip through the university’s #DMUglobal programme, which offers students international experiences to bring their studies to life.
Students studying Nursing, Midwifery, Psychology, Education Studies, Pharmaceutical and Cosmetic Science, Pharmacy and Forensic Science will explore the city learning from health experts how authorities tackle issues like prostitution, drug use and sexual health.
Nursing, Midwifery and Psychology students will take a journey through the human body at The Body Worlds exhibition, where they will examine what makes people happy and the how daily decisions affect our propensity for happiness.
Student nurses will also visit the city’s Museum of Prostitution where they will learn about the history of Amsterdam’s sex worker industry and reflect upon the ways in which personal and societal attitudes and stigma can impact on health inequalities.
Meanwhile, Midwifery students will visit the Koninklijke Nederlandse Organisatie van Verloskundigen (KNOV), the Dutch equivalent of the UK’s Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). There they will learn the differences between the Dutch and English midwifery techniques and receive a lecture on the unique Dutch birth model.
Students will also have the opportunity to visit some of the capital’s favourite museums including the Anne Frank House museum, marking the life of the Jewish Holocaust victim, and the Hash Marihuana and Hemp Museum, where they will learn about the advent of the Dutch tolerance policy, information on how cannabis works as a medicine, as well as the cultural and religious use of marihuana and hash.
Dr Steven Lyttle, Head of School Applied Social Sciences, said: “The purpose of this trip is to engage students in debates around the global health and social care agenda, with reference to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We will be focusing in particular on SDG 3 which aims to achieve good health and wellbeing for people of all ages by 2030.
“Amsterdam is a perfect location to have these events because a quite different approach to health and wellbeing has been adopted there compared to the UK and they are achieving some startling results in areas such as teenage pregnancy which are among the lowest in Europe.
“We are hoping that students will return to Leicester with an understanding of how their professional area has a role to play in achieving the SDGs, and we hope too that they have a better understanding that change happens in a cultural context and this will mean that what they need to do in the UK might be different from what is needed in other parts of the world.”