Our last day in Birmingham started with going to our last lectures at Birmingham City University. I know we have been in the building a lot this past week and a half for many lectures, but time has truly flown by. I have enjoyed listening to the multiple health lectures that we received during our time here and have taken so much from all the knowledge the speakers gave us. Our first lecture of the day was about epidemiology, especially cardiac related diseases and how they affect disadvantaged countries. We talked about the prevalence of certain airborne and waterborne diseases and the importance behind them. I thought it was interesting that there are more cases of measles in the United States than the United Kingdom and countries in Africa. The negative connotation around Africa with its health problems has put an effect on how others see Africa, even though Africa has been doing better with preventing further infection spreading. Africa’s leading health problems are diseases such as Malaria, Lyme, and HIV/AIDS. America’s leading health problems are obesity, heart disease, and strokes. America’s health problems are highly dependent on the way we treat our body, such as the type of food we eat and the amount of exercise we get a day to reduce our chances of getting these deadly health problems. Healthier foods and more exercise put less of a burden on our blood vessels and our heart. 

After learning the importance of taking care of our heart, our next lesson was on the EKG, also known as the electrocardiogram. EKG’s are used for numerous different circumstances, for instance during and after surgeries, wounds releasing a lot of blood, and irregular heart rhythms. I found it interesting to know more information about how the electrocardiograms monitor all the electrical signals in your heart. I did not know how to physically put on an EKG until today. There are ten electrodes, the sticky patches, that go onto the chest, back, arms, and legs to get a better view of how blood and signals are flowing through the body. The body and heart are three dimensional structures and need to be understood from multiple angles. There are twelve leads that depict the waves and signals coming from the heart’s atriums and ventricles. Leads are the different readings of the signals depending on where the signal is coming and going through the heart. 

After our last lecture at Birmingham City University, we cried a little bit and said goodbye to our lovely Chenenye who I will definitely miss. She was a role model for all the nursing students with the amount of love and passion for her career. After leaving BCU, we went to our last meal at the Boston Tea Party. Ruby, Meredith, and I sat down and got some last brunch to celebrate the trip coming towards the end. I devoured my pancakes so we could get back to the hotel in time to get on the bus. We had a three hour trip to London which I decided to sleep the entire duration of. When getting to out hotel in London I was shocked to see how nice the room was. It has a studio apartment vibe to it with the wood and blue details. The hotel is built around the idea of being resourceful and helping the environment, so the area is very focused on living in a true way to ourselves which I like. There are tons of self healing books and notes around the room really emphasizing the goal behind the hotel. We prepared for the night we have been talking about for weeks now: the alumni dinner. The meal is centered around the community of Pittsburgh students, either current or former. The alumni live in London or surrounding areas that have gone to Pitt but now have fully moved their lives to the United Kingdom. I talked to a few alumni, some in their forties and a couple more recent graduates. One common trait among them all was how happy they all were with their decision to move over here. I definitely would enjoy living in London and found the conversations very captivating with how happy they were. It was finally dinner time when the fresh basket of rolls came onto the table. One thing I will definitely miss about the United Kingdom is how fresh all their bread and pastries are, especially the croissants I would get every morning at the hotel buffet. My main course was salmon and some sauteed vegetables. My dessert was a pavlova with pistachio cream and berries. The food was beyond delicious and left me content. I am so beyond excited for tomorrow’s full day in London, we have a full day of fun plans ahead of us!