“Life itself is much easier in Denmark”

Andrej Srdoc has been running a dental clinic in Maribo, Denmark for over a year now after having participated in Medicolink’s intensive language and culture teaching program.

Learning Danish language

For five months, Andrej lived in Budapest, where the Danish language course takes place. He was part of a multicultural class, who received teaching for up to six hours a day, every weekday. Sounds difficult, right? Well, it’s not a walk in the park for sure, but if you get the chance to practice daily and dedicate enough time to it, progress will be quicker than you’d expect.

After he’s been in Denmark for a year, Andrej reminisced about his experience: “Medicolink’s language course, (compared to all other courses I’ve experienced) is amazing. When I started the ML language course, I did not know a single Danish word. It is incredible that after 5 months I could speak Danish. It was hard work, but I miss it. If you plan to start learning the language you have to prepare yourself that it is a challenge.”

He hasn’t stopped learning ever since, even though the courses he took in Denmark were a bit too slow and simple for him, Andrej got additional ‘lessons’ from his coworkers: “I often ask my assistants and doctors how to pronounce particular things – they have helped me a lot. I understand 99.5% of the communication with my staff. Sometimes I lack words when talking about something very technical and specific. It’s getting better.”

Being a private dental clinic owner in Denmark

It’s apparent from all this that he is getting along with the clinic’s staff very well: “When I started to work in the dental clinic in Maribo, it wasn’t so hard for neither me, nor the staff to get used to each other.  We are working as a team – I never say I am the boss”.

The friendly and supportive environment, and the familiarity of the job itself was quite comforting for Andrej, especially that he is doing the same procedures that he used to do in Croatia. “One thing is for sure, my stress level is much lower than it was in my home country.”

Now, Andrej is considering opening a second clinic, while Ivana, his wife, is aiming to get a position in Nykøbing Falster, working in the field of bioanalytics. Naturally, they need to speak Danish at the workplace, but they are also using the language in everyday life: “Now I can speak in Danish at the bank (I am buying a car). And when we look at houses we also speak Danish.”

Family life in Scandinavia

Although Andrej’s family didn’t participate in Medicolink’s partner course, they have begun studying Danish as well. Ivana and their children have been attending Danish lessons since their arrival to their new home. Their progress has been much slower than Andrej’s, but they are slowly, but surely catching up.

All in all, the family is getting along well, as Andrej said: “Life itself is much easier in Denmark than in Croatia. Much more security. Many educational opportunities.”  They have successfully adjusted to their new surroundings, the local culture and customs. Language is a big part of culture, and Andrej having learned it before arrival has been a great advantage.

Advice

For future adventurers he gives this advice: “They must believe what Medicolink says. It was me who started communicating with Medicolink. I thought that it sounded too good, and it cannot be true. However, it was real what they said.”

Either you are interested in what it’s like living and working in Denmark as a doctor, or learning more about available dental jobs or medical specialist positions, feel free to get in touch – we would be glad to provide you with further details and information.