We visited the Universidad Austral campus in Pilar once again today, and spent the day doing a plethora of activities throughout it. Upon arriving, we had the opportunity to tour Hospital Universitario Austral, which is the private hospital that is on the campus, attached to the nursing school. A few of the nurses took us around to the different floors within the building to show us what goes on in the hospital on a daily basis, from the neonatal unit to intensive care to emergency facilities for both pediatric and adult care. It was interesting to see how they went about their everyday tasks and the differences between their hospital compared to hospitals in the United States, especially considering the differences in healthcare and funding. However, I was also surprised to see some of the advancements of the technology they were using.

Part of the Hospital Universitario Austral mission statement mentions their pursuit of truth and a culture of life, and they achieve this in a variety of fashions. A prominent factor that I noticed throughout our tour of the hospital was the emphasis on patient-centered care. Every single employee that we talked to today and yesterday was adamant about mentioning the fact that the patient is their primary motivation within their healthcare model. They want what is best for their patients and have made efforts to ensure that they get that, whether it be the high quality of their nurses and specialists or the safety that they guarantee. They are constantly trying to improve and innovate to make sure that this part of their mission is maintained, and I think we were able to see that through their technological and biological advancements within the hospital. As far as “the pursuit of truth,” I think one main thing that stood out to me was the “HIVE” program that they are implementing within the hospital. This is a strategy that is being used to address the problems that are arising within the healthcare system, trying to make it fair for and accessible for everyone. A main theme of this strategy is promoting innovation and process improvement, leading to an increase in the value of the healthcare services provided. As mentioned before, Austral is continuously implementing new ideas and technology in order to advance and provide what their patients need.

After our tour of the hospital, we were able to tour the IAE Business School. The business buildings were some of the nicest I have ever seen, and they even have a underground tunnel system connecting all the buildings for students to get around when it is raining. We were able to see how they are renovating part of the one building in order to accommodate the movement toward innovation. They turned a section of one of floors into an innovation lab with open spaces and flat classrooms to promote idea generation, which students of all majors can use. In addition, we were able to sit in on an MBA Operations Management class, which was one of my favorite parts of the day. They were doing a Lego activity in groups of six people, in which each person represented a different part of the supply chain and they had to work together in order to be the most efficient and productive team while implementing different demand strategies. It was engaging even for us just watching on the side, because we were able to see the concepts being applied rather than lectured.

Lastly, we got to meet some students from Argentina that are studying at Austral, and make posters for a local health program in the community. It was nice to interact and learn about their culture and experiences as a student, rather than the faculty and other personnel that we have interacted with so far, because it gave us a different perspective on the way things work at the university and in Buenos Aires/Pilar in general.

Tomorrow we are stepping away from Austral and visiting a medical device company in Buenos Aires, and I am hoping it will be just as much of a learning experience as the past two days have been!