It almost seems unreal to say this is our final day of hospital and university visits, but here we are. It is Day 10 in Buenos Aires and we started it with a visit at Hospital Paroissien. This hospital is located an hour inland, but still in Buenos Aires Province. This hospital is in a much poorer area of the province, and it was clear the hospital did not receive as much funding or resources as other private hospitals we have been to. We walked into the ER on the lower level, and one thing I noticed was the amount of mosquitoes inside. The hospital staff we were talking to said that they were unable to keep mosquitos out, and dengue frequently spread throughout the hospital this way. The hospital has 303 beds, which I found very interesting, since the other public hospitals we visited only had 200 beds. This hospital has 1/3 more beds, but a lot less resources. This shows how high the demand in this area is, but it most likely comes with less quality of care. This hospital is able to do high risk procedures like neurosurgery as well.
After touring the hospital, we went to Matanza University to meet with nursing students. This university is public, meaning education is free. We were able to see some of the school’s buildings, including their library, auditorium, technology building, and nursing school. At the nursing school, we saw students performing a live clinical simulation for a patient (mannequin) going into anaphylactic shock. We were able to see their critical thinking and nursing skills, very similar to what we will be doing next year! Also similar to the University of Pittsburgh, students have the same prerequisites, labs, and clinical rotations. They also have research opportunities for students and professors. One thing at Matanza University that is different from Pitt is the program’s set up. At this university, the program is two cycles. The first is 3 years and 30 credits, and when completed, you have an associate’s degree. 70% of nursing students only complete this cycle. The second is an additional 2 years and 19 credits, which give you a BSN or licensed nurse title. This is another difference, as their BSN program is 5 years. They also told us the main reason people do not complete the BSN is due to additional English classes needed. The students at this university are also much older; one of the students I met had just turned 30. Classes at Montana are also once or twice a week, but can be up to 4 hours! They take around 4-6 classes a semester, which is fairly similar to us as well. But, they begin clinicals their first year. Also similar to us, some of the most popular specialties are ICU and Pediatrics, but ICU is the hardest clinical rotation. One thing that differed from the University of Pittsburgh that I found interesting is that many people don’t live on campus and they drive hours everyday to get to school.
After visiting Matanza University, we had a street art walking tour in the Palermo neighborhood. We were able to see true Argentine street art, which I learned is different from graffiti, demonstrating themes of love, family, and remembrance. We also did an exercise where we had to create a story about the street art and then discover the true meaning behind it. I really enjoyed this because we had to really look at the beautiful work. After the walking tour, I went back and rested as it was a very long day. Tomorrow we get to have a late start and see some museums about the history of Argentina! I cannot believe the trip is almost over, it happened so fast.
