Today began with an early rise so we could board a bus and head to Universidad de Austral’s main campus in Pilar, about an hour and a half from Buenos Aires. I slept on the bus so that I would be able to stay awake during our lectures, though not to much success. We went to the Hospital Universidad Austral, which is their teaching hospital for the nurses and medical students just like UPMC is for Pitt. Our first lecture was from Dr. Marcelo Pellizzari about the hospital’s role in the private sector. He also taught us about the history of the hospital. We then heard from Mariano Pelorosso, director of the hospital, who told us more about the business side of the hospital. He told us about 10 major things hospitals have to budget for and keep track of. The Hospital Universidad Austral was slightly different from Swiss Medical, the other private hospital we toured earlier this week. For example, Swiss Medical was a lot fancier than Austral. Additionally, Austral offered a lot more services and less bed spaces at that particular hospital than Swiss Medical had at the hospital we toured. At Austral, they are known for their liver, kidney, and heart transplant surgeries, among many other things. The two facilities were similar in the way that they are both private facilities that have both hospitals and insurance companies, which we learned is meant to allow for continuity of care for patients, as the insurance allows the patients to use those particular facilities rather than finding somewhere else to go. Both facilities offer high quality care for a price, but Swiss Medical’s is spread out across multiple facilities. There was definitely no shortage of mosquitos on Austral’s campus because as soon as we stepped outside we were bombarded and swarmed with them almost as if they were bees and we disturbed their hive. We were served a lunch of empanadas which were amazing. The best one was ham with a big lump of cheese in the middle. We got to meet some students who went to Austral. I met two other nursing students who were nice to talk to and very interesting people. We compared our lives and found that we have a lot in common. It definitely proved to be a fun day and was a good way to cap off our first week in Buenos Aires.