Now that the time of our stay in Argentina is near its end, I have been reflecting on all we have learned during the past 2 weeks. This course was instrumental in my realization of how complex the whole health care system actually is and how important the various aspects such as the differences between public hospitals, private hospitals, clinics, insurance companies, and obras sociales really are. One of the most important lessons learned during this program is that health care is not simply about physicians and their patients but is associated with funding, affordability, general state of economy, government organization, technological development and resources distribution.
In addition to academic information, I have learned much more about Argentina during this trip in the many included tours, presentations, and lectures as well as such non-academic, but still very important things, such as the way they cook steaks and how to tango. It seemed like every day there were new things to see, more interesting facts to learn, and great moments to enjoy together with other people on the trip. The experience obtained in Argentina will be very valuable both as part of global medical education and from personal perspective. As we are preparing for the flights back to the States in 14 hours, I am definitely going to miss this place, its people, and culture, but I am also grateful for all that was given to me here.
I’ll miss you Fran 🙁