Cañon del Atuel San Rafael – David tries rafting

Wednesday, February 29th, 2012

This Sunday I took a trip South of Mendoza, to Cañon del Atuel. Being some 240km to the south of Mendoza, we started the day quite early at 7.30 am, and it wasn’t until 11 o’clock that we made it to the nearest city to the canyon, San Rafael. I was a bit disappointed to discover that we weren’t going to be stopping in the city, rather just driving around the main streets for around 15 minutes. The main square, Plaza San Martín, was very beautiful, and I managed to snap a photo of the statue and fountains through the window, before we left for the canyon.

011111062535 312522 703984015455 222406985 6802680 493301954 n 150x150 Cañon del Atuel San Rafael David tries rafting

Gorgeous views

Before reaching the canyon, we drove along a river leading up to it. The lush green trees made a stark contrast to the barren rocks in the surrounding landscape. In the afternoon we had a choice of activities to do, and 6 of us chose to go rafting on the river. Although not technically challenging (we were all beginners), it was very fun and I got soaking wet! I don’t have any photos from it so far, as I had left my camera in the minibus, but one of the guys who did bring his camera out has promised to email me his pics of us dressed up in our rafting gear!

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Finally In Mendoza… Daniel begins his elective

Friday, February 17th, 2012

After a 13.5 hour flight I finally landed in Buenos Aires. Ezeiza airport was a bit of a free-for-all, with a massive customs queue to exit that seemed to cause several disagreements between those waiting.

031011011603 305698 696456041575 222406985 6718057 329539386 n 150x150 Finally In Mendoza… Daniel begins his elective

Welcome to Argentina

I stayed in a lovely hotel, which was probably a slightly too posh, but I’d got a good deal on the price, so the luxury was quite nice. After exploring a while I came across Florida street, which was full of tourists and had a market running along it’s entire length.

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Top 10 … reasons why our Intensive Spanish Course is the best!

Monday, January 23rd, 2012
1. From basic to proficient in one week – our course starts with the basics and progresses to include medical terminology. This will really help you in a hospital environment.

DSC05324 150x150 Top 10 ... reasons why our Intensive Spanish Course is the best!

Learning Spanish helps you translate menus

2. Focus on your discipline – We make sure our teachers in Mendoza and Arequipa know each student’s clinical interests before you even fly out to your destination. By the time you start, they will have developed specific material that will help you learn the terminology needed for your placement.

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Argentina: Call for National Law to Reduce Maternal and Infant Mortality

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

The Argentine Alliance for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (Asumen) submitted the results of a survey on Maternal and Child Health carried out during the months of August and September.

Each year, more than 400 women and more than 9,200 children under one year die in Argentina. Out of these, 70% of maternal deaths and 60% of children’s deaths could be prevented through the implementation of effective health policies.

As a central strategy to reduce maternal and infant mortality nationally, the Argentine Alliance for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health mentioned the need of creation of a National Health Act that should coordinate the nation together with its provinces and municipalities. The act should apply both to Social Security and well as within the private sector. It should put an end to the current fragmentation of the health system, thus achieving a more effective funding and allocation of resources.

The survey results showed a total agreement of the need to reduce maternal and infant mortality through: (more…)

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A typical day on placement – Maternity in Mendoza

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

Wake up at 7.45. Leave the house 15 minutes later than I mean to. Catch the bus to the hospital. Walk past street vendors that sell tortitas and churros that I know are cheaper and tastier that the ones in the hospital but attempt to ignore it as I know I’m already late.

1 day old1 150x150 A typical day on placement Maternity in Mendoza

Ward rounds in Argentina

Arrive at the ward to find all the residents busy preparing for the ward round. We are a team of all women (21 chicas) on a ward of all women patients and women nurses. I love it!

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Weekly Question – popular games

Monday, October 24th, 2011
Alison April 10 29 300x225 Weekly Question popular games

Hanging out

We set the Assistant/Programme Managers on a mission this week to find out ‘’…What games are popular in the house and what are the rules …’’

We often get students asking what participants do during their free time, especially in the evenings. Most agree that it is a pretty relaxed affair which is definitely required after a hard day’s work in a foreign environment, time is spent journal writing, exploring the local area, chillaxing as well as going back to basics and playing a good old game. Surprisingly, a lot of the games played are traditional local games learnt in country as well as things brought from home. Feel free to have a read of the following blog about what games students are playing whilst on placement, you may even learn a few new ones to help pass some time during the upcoming cold winter evenings

Natalia our programme manager in Argentina says ‘’ during the cold winter evenings, two games became popular among students and staff at the BBQ nights. The first one was “Chancho” (Pig), which is a variation of the famous card game “Spoons”. The objective of the game is for each player to be the first to have four of a kind. When this happens, the player says “chancho” loud, and places one hand on the centre of the table. This has to be followed by the rest of the players; the last one loses and gets a letter. The game ends when the word “chancho” is spelled out by a player and, officially becomes one. In some cases, the player who loses is required to complete a dare.

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The weekly question: What is the structure of a typical day on a placement?

Wednesday, October 12th, 2011

A couple of weeks ago we had a blog about a typical day on placement in Mendoza Argentina, it proved to be extremely popular so we decided to ask students in all of our destinations how they were finding there time on away.

We try and give you an idea before you head out to your chosen destination what a typical day might be like even though I think we all know, each day can be completely different.  Below provides you with an insight into the average day of a student on placement with us.

Kate is currently in Sri Lanka and her day’s starts at 7am sharp with a shower and breakfast before heading out to get a tuk tuk to the hospital for an 8am start

Alison July 10 33 150x150 The weekly question: What is the structure of a typical day on a placement?

On ward round in Sri Lanka

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What the one week intensive Spanish course is really like.

Friday, September 23rd, 2011

The first day on the Intensive Spanish Course was nice and easy. We had a quick orientation tour around the main streets and sights of Mendoza, followed by a light lunch at a quaint restaurant. In the evening, we hung out in the kitchen, cooking and eating (or finishing) the fresh empanadas and alfajores de maicena we had just made. This was going to be easy…. or so I thought!

The rest of the Spanish week was anything but ¨tranquilo¨….. roll out of bed at 8AM, 4 rigorous hours of Spanish with Inés, 30 minutes to change out of my pyjamas, and then an afternoon of excursions with Jose. True to its name, this was definitely an intensive Spanish week. But every moment of it was brilliant. Each day was completely different, with some days packed with more than one activity. And siestas didn’t count!  I could tell, at various points through any given day, that I was experiencing a moment that would be a fondly remembered memory for years to come.

Like my first tango class with Ana y Luis. I was dreading the lesson as I have never been particularly coordinated, and I hate dancing with a partner. But 5 minutes in and I was already in love with this dance. Since they don´t speak English, it was difficult to understand the technicalities of each step: ¨Where does my hand go? Why can´t I do that? I do what with my foot?¨ But because it´s such a physical and intuitive dance, the body language facilitates the Spanish, making the language barrier a non-issue. Ana y Luis will repeatedly tell you to feel, listen, and let your body speak to you. Cheesy, I know, but totally true. So just go with the flow!

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A typical day on a medical maternity placement in Mendoza

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

Wake up at 7.45. Leave the house 15 minutes later than I mean to. Catch the bus to the hospital. Walk past street vendors that sell tortitas and churros that I know are cheaper and tastier that the ones in the hospital but attempt to ignore it as I know I’m already late.

Arrive at the ward to find all the residents busy preparing for the ward round. We are a team of all women (21 chicas) on a ward of all women patients and women nurses. I love it!

IMG 1743 150x150 A typical day on a medical maternity placement in Mendoza

newborn

Come 9AM, no ward round. 9.30AM, still no ward round. 9.50AM and the consultant strolls into the doctors’ room to have a cigarette before he starts the ward round.

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The Weekly Question – What has been your clinical highlight this week?

Friday, September 2nd, 2011

Often students tell us of rare and tropical diseases that they’ve only read about in the past. Whether it be differences in the treatment of patients, unseen diseases or progressed pathologies, an overseas placement can provide a fascinating learning environment. We have asked this question a few times but we always get some really interesting answers… What has been your clinical highlight this week?

Alison July 10 33 150x150 The Weekly Question What has been your clinical highlight this week?

On the ward in Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka after three weeks on the surgical ward Julie’s really built up the trust between herself and her local colleagues “I’m treated as a team member.  I had my own patients for wound care management and contributed to a burns victim dressing. This was a new approach, which had a good effect on the staff and patient as dressing time became less dramatic.”

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