Marian Jones had grumbling discomfort after dinner and then woke up at 3AM with excruciating right upper quadrant pain with nausea and vomiting. Her terrified husband rushed her to the Emergency Room (ER). A brief assessment by an experienced nurse ensured that Marian was seen promptly by an ER doctor. After listening to her story and examining her, the physician thought she might have gallstones or a right kidney stone or perhaps an ulcer with bowel perforation. The doctor ordered a Computed Tomography (CT) scan as the single best test to distinguish among those three possibilities. Ten minutes after the test was completed, the radiologist called to say that Marian had a perforated duodenum. A surgeon was consulted and the patient was rushed to the operating room and subsequently had an uneventful complete recovery.

There is a great deal to admire about this country of 5.5 million. A land of great beauty and resources, Norway is home to a reportedly quiet, modest people with one of the world’s greatest economies including a very high standard of living and the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund of over 1.3 Trillion. In the midst of this bounty, they have built a model egalitarian society providing excellent healthcare, education and even a thoughtful prison system.