Today was another amazing day! We began with an early start at the school of engineering. First, we had a lecture with Dr. Iñigo Lorenzo discussing nursing education and research in nursing. I was surprised to learn that the nursing school program in Spain varies from the United States in some ways. The most notable difference I noticed was that clinical rotations in Spain do not occur while students are attending class; instead, they go to clinical five days a week for the entire day. Additionally, they begin their clinical rotations during their freshman year, totaling about one full year of clinical experience over their four years of nursing school. Dr. Lorenzo also discussed his dissertation and research, which involved reusing pacemakers in patients. This area of study stemmed from seeing hospitals in Spain sterilize single-use metal needles from surgical drains. While researching whether this method was safe, he discovered a doctor in the United States who was recycling pacemakers. He then looked into the medical and legal considerations to see if this could be done in Spain. After gathering information, he learned that it was in fact possible, and once the devices underwent testing and sterilization, they were able to implant the pacemakers in patients in India.

Next, we listened to a presentation from Dr. Mikel Diez about the engineering process behind designing a new medical device. Hearing the process from an engineering perspective was very interesting, as some of the things I would expect to be most important when designing a device were not at the forefront of his. For example, Dr. Diez emphasized that a key characteristic of a good medical device is ensuring the patient will want to continue using it. From an engineering standpoint, it might seem that if a treatment helps, a patient would naturally want to continue it, however, from my nursing perspective, I know there are many other factors that contribute to a patient being consistent and compliant with a treatment.

To end the day, we divided into two groups. My group walked around for a while and had some time to browse in stores. Later, we went to a group cooking class. It was very cool to see the different ingredients that go into the dishes we have been surrounded by these past four days. Despite the rainstorm, we had another amazing day, and I cannot wait to see what tomorrow holds!