The blogging series is almost ending, but before it does, I want to share with you my latest experience. Today, I felt a bit lazy and decided to sleep a little longer in the comfort of my twin bed. Eventually, I rushed to grab a croissant for breakfast before boarding the bus for my hour-long trip to Universidad Austral. The croissants in Argentina are amazing, and I couldn’t resist getting one. Once on the bus, I heard that the ride would take over an hour, so I took a long nap to catch up on some sleep.
We learned about the hospital’s objectives during our meeting with Dr. Marcelo Pellizzari, the quality and safety department chairman and a board member at Hospital Austral. These include providing patient and family-centered care, maintaining quality and safety, and promoting efficiency, innovation, and digital transformation. However, the hospital faces a significant challenge due to the growing population in the surrounding areas, making accommodating everyone difficult. I previously believed that private hospitals prioritized minimizing wait times over public hospitals.
On Monday, we visited Swiss Medical Group, a private hospital. Swiss Medical and Hospital Universitario Austral offer insurance plans and HMOs, allowing access to doctors and facilities within their networks. However, Swiss Medical earns more money through its insurance plans than Austral. Austral depends on union insurance and private funds to run their hospitals. Additionally, the companies have different strategies for managing wait times. Austral has chosen to increase its prices to reduce demand for its healthcare, while Swiss Medical focuses on efficiency to avoid long wait times and provide quick service to patients. Based on my observations, Austral’s approach to healthcare appears more financially focused, limiting access to only a small group of people who can afford their services. On the other hand, Swiss Medical aims to provide healthcare to as many people as possible.
At an end-of-life facility for severe cases, the focus is on providing the best quality of life for the person during their remaining time rather than prolonging their life through pain meds. With only thirteen beds that rotate quickly due to the severity of cases, residents typically live only temporarily. The facility prioritizes the patient’s comfort. They do not even have to eat if they do not want to eat. Families are allowed to visit all day and often become friends with the staff due to frequent visits.
Next on the agenda was the lunch, which involved mingling with fellow students from the university. This was the highlight of my day. We were served empanadas for lunch, and though I couldn’t quite remember which ones I picked, they were all delicious. We were paired with students from the Austral, and I was matched with Carlos, a kind and genuine person. We talked about the differences in our nursing programs, and my favorite question was whether my program was challenging. I replied that it was and that I sometimes cried. To my surprise, Carol agreed and even shared that he also cries. We both laughed, realizing that despite being in different countries, we face similar academic struggles. When I shared glimpses of my daily routine, like attending university football games, he remarked that it resembled movie scenes. His comment was heartwarming, but it feels like the only reality I know. He even gave me a kiss on cheek goodbye. showing that we are friends.
