I hope everyone has had a well-deserved break – be it in the mountains, at the coast or in the city – and have gathered new power for the spring’s application processes and teaching tasks.

The joint lecturing day will take place next week, more specifically on Thursday 27 April. Here, among other things, we will be introduced to ETP (Excellent Teaching Practitioner). This is a merit scheme for outstanding teaching at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. Vise-Dean Harald Walderhaug will explain how this works. Perhaps this is something to strive for?

Objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) is relevant to many subject areas. Here, Ketil Grong will give us some practical examples, and afterwards we will have the opportunity to collaborate on proposals for assignments for later exams.

Apropos cooperation. The 12th semester of the medical studies is a great opportunity to present subjects across professional boundaries, where one can go deeper into terms than in previous semesters. Karen Budal has sent a call to relevant groups in the academic community and asked for input. Think wide! What other topics are related to your field of work? “Acute abdomen”; surgeon / urologist / gastromedicine / gynecologist. Diagnostics of almost anything; pathologist, microbiologist, radiologist. Treatment: what about comorbidity? Cardiologist / anaesthesiologist / pulmonologist. Multipharma; pharmacologist / geriatrics. Almost everything should be diagnosed primarily by general practitioners. Get them on the team!

Our vigorous professional efforts – be it research or education – is that what’s needed to have a good life? There is of course research that can say something about this: “The Harward Study of adult development” – a 75-year longitudinal and ongoing study! An excellent TED talk by the fourth leader of the study, Robert Waldinger, is recommended!

Jone