Rise and shine! Early, ealy bus ride at 8 AM. We took about an hour-long van ride west of Buenos Aires to Hospital Paroissien. I knew we were visiting a public hospital that was in an area of poverty, but if I am being entirely honest, this was way worse than anything I was expecting. Obviously public hospitals are not as nice as the private ones, but never have I ever seen such a run-down, resource-ridden health center. There were two floors with 303 beds total. You could tell there were practically no resources given to this hospital, as everything was very old and dirty. They lacked proper sanitation and cleaning supplies, as well as new stretchers and beds. It was heartbreaking seeing patients in these poor conditions just trying to get the help they deserve. My takeaway from this hospital was not so much that there were no resources given to this hospital, but to be grateful for what I have here in the United States. If I needed to go to a hospital, I would be sent to one with proper resources and quality care. Here, everything is out of the hospital and patient’s control. Saying it is not adequate is an understatement and solutions need to be implemented immediately. 

We left this hospital to go to a nearby college, Universidad de la Matanza. The campus was honestly super cool! It had a lot of similarities to Pitt. For instance, they have multiple really good sports teams that hold state titles. They had a super pretty quad between buildings with greenery, similar to the quad between the freshman dorms. Their nursing program was also super similar! It is two years for an associates degree, and four years for a BSN. Students are required to take electives along with their nursing courses, just like us. They also have a simulation lab where they practice real-life scenarios and have multiple clinical sites in walking distance from the university. As for some differences, the first thing I noticed was that students do not live on campus. They are all commuters and their houses are relatively close by. In the United States, all nurses have to pass the NCLEX exam to become licensed. In Argentina, they do not have the NCLEX. They also do not have clubs or professional development, like Men in Nursing or Nursing Student Association. Besides nursing, they have a huge fine arts program and theater. Dance is a big thing here! They also have similar masters programs to us. 

To end the day, we had a cute graffiti tour in Palermo. I loved this! The street art had a story and a lot were continuous on multiple walls from the same artists, which was super cool. The streets were filled with so many shops and restaurants, I can’t wait to go back! Stay tuned for some museums tomorrow!