On our first full day in Argentina, we went to Sanatorio de los Arcos, which is a Swiss Medical Group Hospital. This is a part of the private healthcare sector in Argentina’s healthcare system. We had a couple lectures on the healthcare systems in Argentina and the National Ministry of Health. Additionally, we had a lecture from Grant Martsolf about Advanced Practice Nursing in the United States, in which I found interesting learning that there are not any advanced practice nursing roles in Argentina.

During our first lecture from Dr. Gabriel Novick, he pointed out how a metaphor of the Argentinean Healthcare system is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I think that this is an interesting metaphor for the Argentine Healthcare System, but it definitely applies. In Frankenstein, the monster was thrown together with lots of different parts, and I think this is referring to the complicated and fragmented aspect of Argentina’s healthcare system. There are many sectors (private, public, obras sociales) that make up the healthcare system and there is also the integration of unions and PAMI, which is similar to Medicare in the United States. Since there is a lot involved with the healthcare system, this resulted in there being sometimes gaps between the sectors, with a lack of integration. Just like the novel Frankenstein, the healthcare system in Argentina has many implications, as did creating the monster. For example, there are issues that are existing in the system such as the structural fragmentation, ignorance of the social determinants, the burden of out-of-pocket expenses, and many more. Additionally, the sectors have many benefits and deficits to them, with the private sector having good technology, facilities, and resources, and the public having more cases and surgeries.

After returning back to the hotel from the informative presentations, I was able to walk around the city more and I got my first steak in Argentina with “papas fritas”, or french fries. This dinner was very delicious, and I cannot wait to see what lessons I will learn and new things I will try in the next two weeks!!