Global Health in Cordoba, Argentina

This experience was an opportunity of a lifetime. My time within the 4-week CFHI program immersed me within the culture of Argentina and allowed me to experience a different side to medicine. Throughout the time I spent in Argentina, I learned so much about how their medical system operates and was able to learn more within medicine. The time in the hospital, I was able to rotate around to many different specialties like radiology, the emergency room, gastrology, and cardiology, which showed me many of the options that I have to further my studies in medicine. Although, the hardest part was the language barrier at times since I was not fluent in Spanish. Even with this present all the healthcare staff took their time to ensure that I understood what was occurring to help with my learning. Moreover, CFHI provided Spanish classes during the time of my program where I spent 2 hours a day learning the language. This helped me greatly as I developed a deeper understanding of the grammar but being completely immersed within the culture significantly helped me develop my Spanish speaking skills. I was always able to work on speaking when exploring the city and when I was spending time with my host family. Being with a host family was a great experience as I was able to spend so much time with them and they would show me hidden spots of the city and different aspects of the culture. They became my second family that I continue to stay in touch with as I am now back home. Overall, this experience was one that I would do again, and I will always remember what I learned here. I created so many friendships within others that attended the program and many from the city of Córdoba, Argentina, which will be connections that I continue to keep and will remember for a lifetime. When studying abroad I expected to learn a lot about another culture and country, which I did, but I learned so much more about my home country and who I am as a person.

My experience in the CFHI Global Health-Argentina was an enjoyable one. I participated in the program for 3 weeks and was able to shadow doctors in mental health and oncology. During my days in the hospital, I saw patients with many different conditions. I also was lucky enough to see the collaboration of the mental health and oncology sectors. Some of my days in the hospital were very difficult because I spoke very little Spanish and the doctors whom I was shadowing spoke very little English, but they always did their best to help me understand what was going on. Also, during my time in mental health another CFHI student who was fluent in Spanish helped by translating for me. Other than going to the hospital, my experience consisted of Spanish classes 5 days a week and planned group activities. I truly enjoyed and definitely needed the Spanish lessons. My instructor did her best to make our classes conversational but also ensuring that we internalized the material. The classes were really fun compared to normal college classes, for example we played charades and tumbling monkeys but changed them so that we were learning as we played. Some of our group activities included a wine tasting, presentations about viruses in Argentina, and lunch as a program. The program advisors were absolutely amazing. They always did their best to make me feel comfortable, whether it was just asking if I needed a snack before Spanish class or checking how living with my host was going. After my classes, I normally went out to eat with some of the other CFHI participants. I got to try a lot of the food in Argentina, which I absolutely fell in love with, especially dulce de leche. Every time I went for ice cream, I got a flavor with dulce de leche. I also had the chance to go sightseeing and I must say that Cordoba is a beautiful place once you take the time to enjoy it. One of my favorite things that I saw in Argentina was looking at the city from on top of the Sarmiento Park Stairs. The host that I had during my stay in Cordoba also made my stay all the more enjoyable. We had a bit of a language barrier, but we did our best to communicate. She always gave me the best restaurant recommendations and gave me a lot of recommendations of things to do while in Cordoba. Overall, I truly enjoyed my global health experience in Argentina and would recommend others to do it if they have the opportunity to. I hope to do another soon.

I was fortunate to be a part of the CFHI program in Argentina. This program was an immersive experience that provided me with invaluable information about Global Healthcare and specifically the culture and practices of medicine in Argentina. Going into the program, I knew I was going to be placed in hospitals. However, I was unaware of just how supportive the CFHI staff was going to be, they truly made my experience the best it could possibly have been. CFHI provided incredible hosts families that made me feel at home and welcome in my month spent across the world. They also talked closely with the coordinators in the hospital to make sure each student was taken care of based on their individual interests. The program also expanded farther than just the medicine present in Argentinian hospitals, providing us students with cultural immersion classes covering topics such as tango, wine and history. These additions made the experience more holistic and thus it was able to contribute to me as a person and not solely just as a future healthcare provider. In addition, I would like to mention the quality of the staff that CFHI has employed. I was blessed with three amazing program directors (Carlos, Charly and Agustín) who served as helpful advisors, fierce advocates, strong support systems and wonderful friends. The staff was available at all hours and willing to assist in any issues that appeared during the trip. CFHI and their staff are what made the experience one that I will cherish for the rest of my life and I cannot put into words just how grateful I am for this organization.

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When I first arrived in Cordoba, I was more than little enthusiastic to see how my experience in Argentina will be shaped by my perspective as a (dare I say) adult and young almost-doctor. I arrived in Córdoba, the second-largest city in Argentina, renowned for it's beautiful colonial structures and for being a center of higher education since the Jesuits established the first National University here in 1613. As a soon-to-be double graduate of Jesuit universities, I was obviously excited to be immersed in a city built on the same foundation. I was met by, Charly, the coordinator of Intercambio Cultural, the local partner of CFHI who made this trip come together for me. Charly greeted me like an old friend with the one-cheek-kiss hello, a simple reminder of the warmth that makes Latin America feel like a second home. The warm welcome of the ICC team lasted throughout the entire trip, with lectures and day trips that made for an easy, educational transition and very difficult parting from my life in Argentina!

Working at Hospital Maternidad was such a fulfilling opportunity where I saw different sides of the field and also conducted my research. As for my research, I ended up interviewing adults instead of adolescents to avoid issues with consent and minorities. I conducted close to 100 interviews in the Obstetrics clinic and in the E.R.. Seeing to better understand what caused such high pregnancy rates. Women were generally open and comfortable with the questions I asked that had to do with level of school completed, if they seeked the pregnancy, and what their future plans were. I felt very comfortable doing the interviews, but at times wish I had more time to talk to the patients but since I was doing the interview during their doctor’s visit, we didn’t have much time. My first questionnaire investigated if women controlled their pregnancies and if they think that it is important to do so. Most replied that it is important, but this didn’t give my any depth. I tried to explore that other factors that I could investigate to better understand why so many women became pregnant at the age of 16-17 and why so many left school even before they were pregnant. Especially when school is free! Even graduate school! To discover these factors I included the following questions:” what is your hobby? And what is your dream?” These responses to these questions surprised both I and the patients. The patients did not know how to respond because no one had asked them such a question before. Many said “I don’t know”, “I don’t have a dream”, and “I like to clean the house”. I couldn’t understand that with all the free schools, why people did not take this opportunity to achieve their dreams. I learned that the Argentinian culture is very different from the United States because in the United States everyone has a dream despite their level of school or their level of economy. After talking with the directors of hospitals, nurses and doctors, many explained that the government subsidies is a major factor contributing the high percentage of people who drop out of school and settle to have a family at a young age. With the government subsidy, the people have a better quality of life compared to those who do work and therefore no one wants to study or work. I went to talk to the director of the Maternity Hospital and Pediatric Hospital to talk about my data and see how we can use the information to improve the conditions. I am in contact with some programs that help pregnant women and they will review my information to talk more with the women about their dreams and hobbies. Also I want to give my information to secondary and primary schools so that schools and teachers can include this sentiment of pursuing one’s dreams in their curriculum.

Working at Hospital Maternidad was such a fulfilling opportunity where I saw different sides of the field and also conducted my research. As for my research, I ended up interviewing adults instead of adolescents to avoid issues with consent and minorities. I conducted close to 100 interviews in the Obstetrics clinic and in the E.R.. Seeing to better understand what caused such high pregnancy rates. Women were generally open and comfortable with the questions I asked that had to do with level of school completed, if they seeked the pregnancy, and what their future plans were. I felt very comfortable doing the interviews, but at times wish I had more time to talk to the patients but since I was doing the interview during their doctor’s visit, we didn’t have much time. My first questionnaire investigated if women controlled their pregnancies and if they think that it is important to do so. Most replied that it is important, but this didn’t give my any depth. I tried to explore that other factors that I could investigate to better understand why so many women became pregnant at the age of 16-17 and why so many left school even before they were pregnant. Especially when school is free! Even graduate school! To discover these factors I included the following questions:” what is your hobby? And what is your dream?” These responses to these questions surprised both I and the patients. The patients did not know how to respond because no one had asked them such a question before. Many said “I don’t know”, “I don’t have a dream”, and “I like to clean the house”. I couldn’t understand that with all the free schools, why people did not take this opportunity to achieve their dreams. I learned that the Argentinian culture is very different from the United States because in the United States everyone has a dream despite their level of school or their level of economy. After talking with the directors of hospitals, nurses and doctors, many explained that the government subsidies is a major factor contributing the high percentage of people who drop out of school and settle to have a family at a young age. With the government subsidy, the people have a better quality of life compared to those who do work and therefore no one wants to study or work. I went to talk to the director of the Maternity Hospital and Pediatric Hospital to talk about my data and see how we can use the information to improve the conditions. I am in contact with some programs that help pregnant women and they will review my information to talk more with the women about their dreams and hobbies. Also I want to give my information to secondary and primary schools so that schools and teachers can include this sentiment of pursuing one’s dreams in their curriculum.