My trip to Mendoza_Argentina
Harriet Rhodes (Medicine)

My first impressions of Mendoza were that it was much colder than I’d expected!  It was the beginning of winter and although sunny, it was quite fresh!  All of the Work the World staff were so welcoming and I quickly settled into the house where there were five other students. The house was very comfortable and the meals were good, with Jessica catering to all dietary requirements.

I took the Spanish course with Ines for the first week of my stay.  As I already knew the basics, she helped me get to grips with some medical vocabulary and taught me the South American pronunciation!  We had lessons in the mornings then a choice of excursions in the afternoon, which helped me really get to know Mendoza.  Highlights were lunch at the very top of a hotel in the city centre and a cycling trip to a vineyard.  Mendocinos are very friendly and also very laid back – they have a siesta during the afternoon which took a bit of getting used to!  The city has affluent developments and modern housing but is also bordered by some very poor areas, which brings unique challenges with regards to healthcare.  Services are divided into three tiers, with public healthcare at the bottom, private healthcare which is very expensive and a further health service funded by workers unions.  The Hospital I was based in comes under the latter, so was better equipped than the large public hospital on the other side of the city.

In the hospital I was also able to see a variety of patients with really interesting conditions and all of the medical staff were caring and supportive.  In my first week I saw a lot of newborns and was encouraged to carry out examinations which was a great experience.  A case which was very memorable was a baby born at 23 weeks gestation to a very young mother.  In the second week of my stay I visited paediatrics where they manage a wide range of illnesses from common flu to leukaemia.  I also helped with outpatient clinics in the afternoons.  The doctors were willing to involve me and answer questions as they weren’t used to seeing work experience students on the ward.   I didn’t have many problems with the language and the neonatal team even asked me to read them a scientific paper in English because they liked my accent!

The hospital was very small and overcrowded, but despite limited resources the healthcare was of a standard similar to what we would expect in the UK.  The doctors explained to me that they are often forced to make difficult decisions, for example they were running low on crucial food supplements for the premature babies whilst I was there.

During down time there was plenty to do, from shopping in the many boutiques to skiing or a zip wire course in the mountains!  We even found time to sample the Argentinean nightlife.  Natalia helped us to arrange trips and activities at the weekend and we were never stuck for things to do.  My stay coincided with the football world cup, so we enjoyed watching  el partido with the locals!

Argentina is a beautiful country, and everyone I met during my trip was sociable and helpful.  I really enjoyed the time I spent there and met some lovely people, and the experience in the hospital allowed me to reflect on how healthcare differs on the other side of the world.