Miert Lindboe had wanted to become an actor but instead of that he went to a faraway country and city to study medicine. Now he is the chief medical officer of Oslo, and among other things he is responsible for the city’s pandemic response which is rated one of the best in the world. We talked with Miert about his formative years in Pécs and his very meaningful and hard job.
written by Miklós Stemler
If I know correctly you studied medicine in Pécs around 2010. But let’s get back a little; why did you choose the medical profession and how did you end up here? What is your origin story?
Actually I had rather different plans in my mind when I was a teenager: I wanted to become an actor. I went to a drama high school but after my graduation I joined the military – there is a mandatory military service in Norway. I served on a ship under the ship doctor and I realized that I wish to become a doctor too.
The only problem was that I didn’t have the necessary subjects like biology and chemistry, so I had to retake these. My new high school had connections to Hungary, so there was a possibility for me to study here – but in Budapest, not Pécs. I transferred to Pécs in my second year. It was a bit of coincidence: I knew some Norwegian students who studied here and also visited a city a few time, because I was a member of a student organization.
What were your first thoughts and experiences when you found out that you will study in Hungary? After all it is a rather long way from Norway.
To be honest I didn’t know anything about Hungary and that was my first trip here when I moved here. I had to search for an apartment when I arrived and find out the basic things like where is the university where I will study. It was a strange experience to put it mildly. But it turned out very well, I am really happy that I spent all those years in Hungary. I have only one regret: I never managed to learn the Hungarian language properly. I went to Hungarian classes, but did not really exercised the language outside the classes, because my Hungarian friends preferred to talk with me in English – two of them actually learned Norwegian.
You mentioned that your first Hungarian city was Budapest, but then you moved to the much smaller Pécs and stayed here until your graduation. What do you think, what are the main differences between Pécs and Budapest as a foreign student?
The student community is much more isolated in Budapest. Although you travel around the city, it does not matter to you, you are living in a bubble. Of course some of this is also true to Pécs, but you are more integrated to the city. Maybe your next door neighbor is someone who works at the university, or a nurse who works at the hospital. You feel more included into the community.
I was a strange case: most of my fellow students went from Pécs to Budapest, and of course it is true that there are more restaurants, cultural opportunities in the capital and also the airport is really close to you. But if you are lonely and feel isolated which can happen, if you are a foreign student far from your home, in Pécs you can go out and meet some people. In a big city like Budapest if you are lonely, you are really lonely; although there are a million people around you, nobody have the time for you. So all in all I much more preferred Pécs.
You lived and studied Pécs in a very interesting time, during the European cultural capital project. There were great developments in the city and a lot of programs. What do you remember from these years?
For us the new library was the greatest development. Before the new library we basically lived between the Medical School and the Széchenyi square, so the opening of the Knowledge Center also meant that a new part of the city was opened to us. I really liked the old university library near the Széchenyi Square; it was very traditional and you felt there the presence of the history and this historical feeling is one of my favorite things about Pécs. But sometimes it is nice to have a modern table and air conditioning (laughs).
It seems to me that you were really interested in the culture of Pécs and Hungary. What do you think, is it a common thing among the foreign students?
Many of them are only interested getting their degree, but it is very difficult to categorize. Some of my fellow students managed to learn the language and a few of them spoke it very well. As I said earlier, I also tried to learn it, but I realized later that it is easier for me to read about the history of Hungary and Pécs.
I lived there for so long that it felt home to me, and I felt obligated to know more about the history of my home. It was interesting to me that after a while I knew more about the history of the city and the country that some of my Hungarian friends.
Of course it is the same in Norway: we learn parts of our history and tend to confuse the myths with the actual historical events. I found the Hungarian history really amazing and complicated.
You also played and active role in the student community as a representative and later leader, am I correct?
Yes. First I was a member of the Association of Norwegian Students Abroad, ANSA and later I joined the student body of the Norwegian Medical Association. It has five sub groups: one of each medical university and Norway and one for all the students learning abroad. In my last year I was the leader of this subgroup. I also cooperated with the Hungarian branch of The International Federation of Medical Students Associations.
Your active community role is interesting to me because after your graduation you has chosen the public health career. It is fair to say that you has an interest in the medicine’s role in the public good; did you acquire this interest in the Medical School?
It definitely happened in Pécs, I wrote my thesis about public health and the pharmaceutical industry. I’ve got a job offer in my sixth year from and organization in Switzerland to study the health aspect of the immigration. It was a tempting offer, but then I realized that if I took job I would not have any clinical experience and that was why I chose the medicine in the first place, I wanted to help people. So I started to work in a hospital and later became a general practitioner. In 2020 I switched to public health and then I has became the chief medical officer of Oslo. Right now I am also in charge of the public health response to the pandemic. So my career really has changed in the last two years.
It must be a really big and really stressful job, after all you are responsible for the public health of 700,000 people during a severe pandemic. How can you manage it?
Well, luckily I am not divorced (laughs). I also have two small children, one of them was born right before the pandemic. Somehow my wife accepted that I took this job, of course I will have to make it up to her sometime. Naturally it was a lot of work, I was working 24/7 during the last year and I haven’t got a real vacation in the last 2 years, only a few days of rest. But on the other hand this is a very meaningful job, it has real impact on the life of the people.
The pandemic response of Oslo is rated among the bests in the world and the knowledge that you are doing something useful is really energizing. Still, I was really looking forward for the easing of the pandemic and to have some time to think and rest, but then came the terrible Russian-Ukrainian war and the refugee crisis with it. So it seems that I have to wait for the lazy summer days a bit longer, but in difficult situations like these you have to step up and help if you have the possibility, and I am lucky enough to have it.
Naturally in the last few years you did not have a chance to visit Pécs. Do you plan to and did you visited the city before the pandemic?
Unfortunately I did not have the opportunity since my graduation. I have a Danish wife and we met during my fourth year, so we spent the summers together in Pécs. After my graduation we moved to Bergen where none us had any families, so we used the vacations to visit them. And of course she wanted to see something different than Pécs where she spent three vacations. We started to plan reunions, but it was very difficult to organize and then came the pandemic. We are trying to go back to Pécs for three years now, and maybe now that most of us has a little bigger children, we can go without our wife and behave like young students for a few days (laughs). But I miss the city very much.
Being a student in Pécs was a really important part of my life. Of course these were very hard years, we had to study a lot, and it was devastating to fail an exam, but also the joy was unparalleled when we were successful. It was an emotional roller coaster. I know that the students in Norway are not having such a hard time, which of course has it advantages, but in the hindsight the strict order in Pécs helped us to become more committed to the subject, to being a doctor.
In Hungary you are molded into being a doctor. Some might say that this is an old school approach, but I like it to be molded into being a doctor rather just educated to.
I imagine that this experience creates a strong bond between the students. Did this bond last after your graduation?
Yes. Of course most of us living in different cities and some of my fellow students live in Sweden. We also work a lot and most of us have children, but we talk to each other in every week.
Do you have some very memorable experiences in Pécs, which still come back to you?
Well mostly I remember feeling great after a successful exam, sitting somewhere and just enjoy ourselves. There was a funny episode after my final exam, when I was done with everything. My future wife and I had a lunch and decided that since there is still some time before the graduation ceremony, we should go to swim in Croatia with a rented car. At that time I spoke a little Hungarian so the manager of the car renting company said to me that “You are speaking very good Hungarian. Are you a medical student?” “No” I said to him, “I am a doctor.” “For how long?” “45 minutes!” (laughs). Also there were times when my name confused some people – I think you can guess why – and I had to explain it.
In general I remember the great neighbors we had and the wine festivals with the guy who sold delicious roasted pork and lamb, and we always visited him after the library hours for a bite. I remember our favorite place, the Blöff. Sometimes we just went there for a drink and a coffee and when we studied too hard, the bartender used to give us a shot of pálinka to relax.
But all in all my most favorite experience is to be a part of a huge group which is working very hard to succeed and then the enjoyment of our success. Now you made me really miss Pécs! (laughs) One thing is certain: Hungary will always have a very special place in my heart.