In 2007, I received a grant from the Fulbright Foundation which funded me to move forward with my PhD-studies at the University of California, San Francisco. For me, this year of study in the USA has been of the greatest importance. First and foremost, I was given the opportunity to become involved with one of the most interesting and advanced group of scholars in my field of research, namely pain experienced by cancer patient, during the terminal phases of their illness.

My time at the UCSF has given me valuable insights into a variety of research programs by a very conducted dedicated group of scholars in the Faculty of Nursing. I will of course take these experiences back with to Norway to continue my own scientific work in Oslo. I believe that the insights that I have gained here in the USA will be of direct use in my daily work with this important group of patients in Norway. Through my future work with students at the School of Nursing at the University College of Oslo, this knowledge will be spread all over Norway, as our college is one of the most important educational institutions of health professionals in Norway.

But beside the increased insight I have obtained in my specialized field, I have also had the opportunity to study first hand the methods of teaching and learning implemented by the Faculty of Nursing at UCSF. First and foremost this is marked by the dedication the staff of professors and all the other people employed at the institute show in their daily work. Every day the last autumn and winter I have come to the UCSF, I have felt the energy and the eagerness that the entire staff puts into their work. You really feel that everyone employed at the institute puts his and her total capacity and ability into both the teaching and the scientific work. With so much energy, devotion, and commitment the results more or less have to be eminent and among the very best in the world in our field. Not at least I have myself profited from this commitment shown by my professor Christine Miaskowski and all of her associates at the Institute. Every time I have been in need of help, I have been offered it. Every time I have delivered essays or papers, I have been sure that my professor has worked through it in order to do what is possible to help me make my work even better.

This dedication and commitment has been of great help and inspiration for me, and I will take this with me to Norway when I go back in the summer. For me it will be of great importance, and I hope also for my students and for my institution.

The grant given to me by the Fulbright Foundation has enabled me to take part in and get insight into one of the most interesting groups of scholars in the world in the field of nursing.