After a long travel day, we arrived in Bilbao after stopping in Madrid for a few hours. I started my day out with breakfast at the hotel. I really enjoyed breakfast and there was a large variety of foods to choose from. The orange juice was super fresh, and of course I had to try the pastries. After breakfast, we took the metro to the Basurto hospital where we learned about some of the differences in healthcare between the United States and Bilbao. We got a brief tour, and then we got time to have snacks and chat with some of the different employees there. I talked to one of the nurses, and she was telling us how primary care can make a big difference in the healthcare that an individual receives.
We then proceeded to get on the metro to go to the BioBizkaia Health Research Institute. We split into two groups, and I decided to listen to the presentation on 3D printing. We learned about the process of printing objects and testing them, and we got to look at the types of machines that they use and some of the parts that they have printed. Specifically, they showed us a prosthetic for cartilage in the larynx that protects your vocal chords, and I was able to relate this back to anatomy and physiology that I have learned in nursing school which I thought was cool. While I know this may be more relevant to engineering, I was really fascinated by the whole process. It is crazy to me that we have the technology and ability to print parts and prosthetics in medicine, and our technology will only continue to advance. As someone who is interested in orthopedics and was once considering majoring in biomedical engineering, I really enjoyed getting to see this. After the presentation, we listened to a presentation on rehabilitation and physical therapy. I learned that bilbao focuses on research towards rehabilitation and chronic illnesses, and they are able to do so as they have a universal healthcare system unlike us.
After our visit to the research institute, we headed over to the Bilbao School of Engineering where we had lunch. I had carbonara pasta, chicken and potatoes, and an orange. Something that has been different for me here is the big lunches that they have. I am used to eating a smaller lunch and then a bigger dinner. I have also noticed that they serve bread with almost every meal here. We then had an introductory presentation about our itinerary for Bilbao, and this really helped clear things up for me.
We have some free time this afternoon, and I am excited to explore the city, and find somewhere to eat dinner. Our journey has just begun, and it was a very busy day, but I am excited for what is to come!
