Hello, my name is Jaya Varma and I am super excited to go on the Plus3 Argentina trip. I am from Madison, New Jersey, and I just finished my first year of nursing school at Pitt. I chose nursing because nurses are the primary advocates for patients, and I want to provide equitable and holistic care to my patients. I also love the innovations of science, and I want to go into the area of women’s health because there has historically been a deficit in standards of patient care and technologies. I hope to bridge the gap in these areas of healthcare in terms of quality patient care and deficits in women’s health. I love traveling, art, music, nature, and new experiences. I love anything outdoors, and I recently got my SCUBA diving certification! I also love watching tv or movies with friends to unwind, which definitely got me through this year!

I chose the Plus3 Argentina trip because I am very interested in global health, and I am planning on pursuing the global health certificate. I also am interested to learn about how healthcare systems are financed, because there is so much to learn from other countries to promote more equity and access to care. I think that finances are a major barrier from both sides of the healthcare system (provider side and public side) to providing or accessing quality care, and the systems that perpetuate social determinants of health like socioeconomic status need to be monitored and reevaluated, while learning from other countries who are bridging the gap.