It is Day 6 of our Buenos Aires trip and one week since we began this amazing journey! We began our day with an extremely early start and bus ride, which I naturally slept on. We went to the University of Astral main campus, which is located in Pilar, a city in the province of Buenos Aires. We heard from two speakers, Dr. Marcelo Pellizzari and Juan Manuel Labado, who discussed the key goals of the hospital and how its managed. This hospital has a large focus on patient centered care and relationships between staff and patients. Some of their major difficulties are retaining financial stability, managing increase in demand, and dealing with healthcare staff shortages. After, we got to tour the University of Astral Hospital, and saw a pediatric and medsurg unit. It was very modern, and a lot of its infrastructure and supplies resembled hospitals in the United States.
Once we finished the tour we go to have lunch with current nursing students at the University of Astral. We got to discuss the differences in our nursing education versus in Argentina. One difference is that most programs in Argentina last 5 years, compared to our 4. They also do not have any accelerated programs like in the U.S. They also have more emphsasis on class exams than us. For example, we have to get a specific grade to pass a class, while they need to pass the class exam. They have three chances to pass or they have to retake it. They also don’t have to take the final right after finishing the class. They can take it any exam period over four semesters. Their class sizes are also extremely small, with the amount of first years being about 30. It is also very common for people to drop out of nursing school, and one of the third years we met said that there are only 10 in her class. Meanwhile, we have a class of about 200 people and not many people leave the program. Their school years go from March to December, which makes sense, as that would mean they have off in their summer. They also do not have a standardized exam like the NCLEX to become a nurse like in the U.S, they just have to pass their classes. Nurses in Argentina have a lot of different shift hours, with some hospitals being 5 days a week, 6 hours, or similar to us with less days but 12 hour shifts. They are also one of the lowest paid professions. Some similarities between the two programs is that they have to pas practicals before doing clinicals, they get to try many specialties, and they have simulations and mannequins like us. Some things outside of nursing I found interesting about the students I talked to is that they are big Taylor Swift fans like me. They also are from multiplie different areas, with one of the girls being from the mountains in San Juan, and another being from nearby in Buenos Aires. Finally, they were all Messi fans, but more from the standpoint of him being inspirational and doing so much for the country, rather than from a soccer perspective.
After leaving Astral, we went to San Isidro Hospital, located in the San Isidro munincipality in Buenos Aires province. We spoke to a nurse, Maria Richards, who is on the board of health for the Secretary of Health of San Isidro. She discussed the distribution of hospitals and primary care facilities within the area, and I found it interesting that each hospital has different specialties. They also have a large focus on community health in the community, and have frequent visits within underprivileged areas to deliver healthcare door to door.
Once we had arrived home, I ended my night with dinner at a local Korean place. I ordered a beef and rice meal, which was very good. I am excited to go see an Argentine ranch tomorrow, and can’t wait to update the blog!
