Entry 11 (English Translation): Final Evaluation of my Internship

Eight months ago, I was talking to my Spanish teacher, and asking her advice. I really didn't think I was ready to do work in a medical environment, in a new country, and in a language that was neither natural nor easy for me. Now it's December, and my time is running short in el Hospital de la Caridad in Seville. It is true -time flies! In a week, I will return to the United States, with new knowledge and a different perspective of both the world of medicine and myself.

el Hospital de la Caridad-- where I've been learning a lot this semester! The portrait on the right is the founder of the hospital, Miguel Manara, who I wrote about in a prior post.

During my hospital experience, I have met and talked to nurses, general practitioners, specialists, and management personnel. I've acquired a very useful vocabulary fora job in medicine. I think my class at the center, "Spanish for the Health Professional, " has reinforced what I learned in the hospital. I had the opportunity to talk to patients and have developed an understanding of how to present myself in a professional and medical facility. My experience has taught me to ask when I do not understand, without the fear of making mistakes in speaking Spanish. It is important to talk and practice, in order to improve language skills. The internship, of course, has also offered me an opportunity to get a better idea of the specific job I may want to pursue in the future, and how specialists work together to effectively cure a patient.

I learned about the health systems of the two countries-- they are certainly very different. Spain's healthcare system is public, and the U.S. system is private. In Spain, anyone can go to the doctor and receive medical care and prescriptions for free . And not only Spanish people, but any person who is registered with the government. My teacher in my class at the Center told me that many people from other countries of the European Union now come to Spain for surgeries or more serious treatments, because they also can be assisted for free. Now, because Spain is experiencing an economic crisis, according to the same teacher , copays are becoming more frequent, but it is still incredibly cheap and accessible in relation to the US healthcare system. There is a branch of private medicine in Spain, for which you have to pay for medical insurance, but that comes with more personal treatment and faster service. In the United States, I have never heard of the public system, nor do I know if it really even exists. The US healthcare system is completely private, like the vast majority of companies in the country. Health insurance is expensive and difficult to obtain if you have a serious or preexisting condition. President Obama has intentions to change the system, to make health care more accessible, however, it's a very controversial topic right now over there across the pond...so complex and controversial that the U.S. government stopped working a few weeks, with what seemed to me like no definite result when they resumed. After experiencing both systems, it is easier to see the best - and worst - of each. It has definitely given me a more objective perspective of medicine. I saw for the first time that the idea of ​​health may vary in many different cultures-- for example, the idea of smoking in relation to health consequences is extremely different in both countries. To me, it is very interesting that I had this experience during a time when the healthcare system in my own country is undergoing vast change, and moreover, that it seems to be converting to a system that looks curiously a lot more like the Spanish system.

Really, though... isn't it beautiful?? I love the palm trees around the building, too.

There really is nothing that I would change about my internship experience here in Sevilla. At first, as I said earlier in my blog, I didn't like the idea that I was going to be working with a nurse instead of a doctor. Now, I think it was a much better alternative, because I had the opportunity to meet all the doctors of the hospital, rather than just one specialist or general doctor. I saw and learned about the responsibilities of other workers in the field of medicine, such as nurses and administrative figures. I could not have learned as much working with a doctor alone. It is important to know not only about the branch of medicine that I wish to pursue, but also how it works in relation to the others and how they all work together to help patients in a complete way. I also liked that my schedule was flexible; if I wanted to travel for a weekend, I could work the hours lost another day, or work a few extra hours on Fridays I was in Sevilla. I liked that particular hospital because it was so close to my school and my schedule there coincided very well with my class schedule, hence, I didn't lose a lot of time traveling back and forth between my the apartment where I live and the hospital or school. The employees have all treated me with great patience in explaining and language, and with an interest in learning about my life, as well. I think I now have the ability to help Spanish-speaking patients in the future and I have a better understanding of communication in general. I know how I want to affect and change, in small and possible ways, the healthcare system in the United States-- to better treat patients, and to ensure the system is fair to all. For all these reasons, my internship at the Hospital de la Caridad has not met my expectations, but exceeded them.

The most important thing I've learned about myself in carrying out this journey is to have confidence in myself. I feel that if I can do this, which I was so incredibly scared of, then I can, with some determination and persistence, do all I want to do in my future career. What a self-empowering experience!!

Only a few more days, then I will have to say goodbye to this place... is this for real?