Today we traveled an hour outside of Buenos Aires to Pilar, where the Austral University and hospital is located. Shortly after arriving, we listened to a lecture presented to us by two of the university’s professors who also work as RNs at the hospital. We learned about the university, RN employment rates, BSN admission and graduation rates, public opinions on nurses, and differences between Argentina and the other countries in America. They also addressed how the government and provinces supply funding for the hospitals in Argentina. After the lecture, we got a full tour of the hospital, which was very interesting to me as it was extremely similar to what we would see in the U.S.. For lunch, we got to meet and talk to students of Austral University while enjoying Argentina empanadas with various fillings. The empanadas were delicious (I am looking forward to having many more this trip!), and talking with the students was such a special experience. It was such a cool thing to be able to talk to nursing students of another country that were my age and compare life experiences. This was definitely my favorite part of the day!

One of the biggest challenges for the Austral hospital as a private hospital in Argentina is maintianing a high enough number of nurses, especially with BSNs. Argentina has the lowest percentage of nurses with a BSN, which is the lowest compared to the other countries of North and South America. In addition, the ratio of doctors to nurses is less than one nurse per doctor, which is much lower than most other countries. This can affect the quality of patient care, as well as lower the trust level the general public has for their nurses. It is apparent that the leading causes are a low salary and not enough recognition of nurses, meaning that it is difficult for them to pursue their career and have financial stability, leading many Argentine nurses to work a separate job to produce sufficient funds. This issue is found to be greater in more rural areas, as the work environment is not sustainable for nurses because they are not receiving sufficient funding by the government and the provinces. Even though there are many qualities about the nursing career that discourage students from pursuing a BSN, not all hope is not lost, as the number nurses with BSNs in Argentina are increasing with each year.