Eye-opening experiences
Photos submitted by students and faculty to the College of Health Sciences May 16, 2023
Study abroad experiences in Italy, Spain showcase health on a global scale
Within 10 minutes of stepping inside a hospital in Italy, Ryan O鈥機onnor, saw her first live birth. She saw two more births, including a C-section, that same day.
The sophomore 91原创 occupational therapy (OT) major was shocked by the opportunities she was afforded inside the walls of San Martino Hospital, a teaching hospital in Genoa, Italy.
鈥淲hen we鈥檙e watching the surgeries, we鈥檙e right next to the surgeon in the sterile field 鈥 so close you could touch a body,鈥 O鈥機onnor said. 鈥淚鈥檝e never shadowed surgery in the U.S., but I doubt we鈥檇 be that close.鈥
Sophomore sports health major Victoria Ciatto traveled to Barcelona, Spain, because she wanted to see how the other side of the world deals with athletes. She had a rare opportunity to watch Olympians train inside the Madrid Olympic Training Center.
鈥淲e saw the best javelin thrower in Spain training,鈥 Ciatto said. 鈥淲e saw the women鈥檚 gymnastics team practice, and the gymnastics coach sat down with us and walked us through an athlete鈥檚 normal day.鈥
Unique experiences like these inspired O鈥機onnor and Ciatto, who had never been abroad before, to take a risk and travel abroad during 91原创鈥檚 Winter Session.
鈥淭his experience makes me wish I knew another language. The doctors here, most of them, speak three languages,鈥 O鈥機onnor said. 鈥淚 know my future patients will come from different backgrounds and ethnicities, so this experience gave me a new perspective.鈥
College of Health Sciences Dean William Farquhar and Thomas Buckley, associate professor of kinesiology and applied physiology (KAAP), led 32 students on the trip to Barcelona. Farquhar said the experience has better connected him to students and motivated him as dean to support student-centered programs that facilitate career success.
鈥淭he experience reminds me why I am in higher ed 鈥撯 to help students get ahead in a competitive world,鈥 Farquhar said. 鈥淚mmersive experiences like study abroad can expand a student鈥檚 mindset. Travel provides an opportunity to view the world through an expanded lens, and then apply this new perspective to any field of study.鈥
The group also took a Flamenco dancing class and attended a soccer game in Barcelona.聽
鈥淚t was insane. Nothing will ever beat the atmosphere inside that stadium,鈥 Ciatto said.
During a tour of the stadium, Ciatto also noticed mind games at play.聽
鈥淏arcelona鈥檚 locker room is full of bright colors while the visitor鈥檚 locker room is dark and dim. Leaving the visitor鈥檚 locker room, the walls are full of pictures of Barcelona鈥檚 wins to try to get into the other team鈥檚 head,鈥 Ciatto said.聽
In Genoa, Italy, each week, students go on rotation, shadowing doctors in general surgery, neonatology, gynecology, urology, and orthopedics at San Martino, and in emergency and neurology at a local children鈥檚 hospital.聽
Sophomore biology major Alexia Vieites said she thought she would be viewing surgeries from a gallery or through a window. But instead, she was in the room when a laparoscopy went awry.聽
鈥淭hey ended up having to cut the patient open to control a big bleed,鈥 Vieites said. 鈥淚t was interesting to see them under pressure in that kind of environment.鈥
Matthew Carr, a sophomore human physiology major in the , spent some time shadowing and volunteering in U.S. hospitals and instantly noticed a different vibe.
鈥淚n Europe, the environment is more relaxed and less stressful,鈥 Carr said. 鈥淚n America, even as a volunteer, I鈥檇 have to use my badge to access every room. Here, you can just walk in anywhere, and the doors are unlocked.鈥
Emma Cunningham, a junior exercise science major on the pre-physical therapy (PT) track, witnessed the hospital鈥檚 first-ever robotic knee replacement surgery.聽
鈥淚t was supposed to take one hour, and it took four hours because there were so many complications,鈥 Cunningham said. 鈥淣one of the new residents were allowed to be in the room, but they wanted the Americans to be in there, and they explained the entire procedure in English.鈥
She couldn鈥檛 imagine a scenario like this in the U.S.
鈥淭here were debates going on in the operating room, and they still took the time to teach us every step of the way,鈥 Cunningham said.
Saskia Richter, director of 91原创鈥檚 Medical Scholars Program and assistant professor of KAAP who led the study abroad trip to Italy along with Caroline Tillman, academic program coordinator for the . Richter called these experiences one-of-a-kind.
鈥淭hey get a true shadowing experience here while a surgeon in the U.S. is likely not going to let you into their operating room unless you have a personal connection with them,鈥 Richter said.聽
It was one of several differences in the healthcare systems students observed first-hand. In Italy, anesthesia is used far less than in the U.S.聽
鈥淭hey only use a nerve block and light sedation to promote a faster recovery,鈥 Cunningham said. 鈥淒uring the robotic knee replacement surgery, the doctors were screaming, and the patient was awake for the entire procedure.鈥澛
Surgeries, even high-tech robotic ones, in Europe are free under the universal healthcare system where healthcare workers are the equivalent of public servants. The same surgery in America鈥檚 privatized healthcare system could cost up to $70,000 in the U.S.聽聽
鈥淢ajor surgeries that people need can take weeks in Europe. A patient here had a large tumor in his stomach causing pain and discomfort, but he couldn鈥檛 get into the operating room for a few weeks,鈥 Carr said. 鈥淚n the U.S., we have issues with access to healthcare, but a patient could get that lifesaving surgery the next day. The grass isn鈥檛 always greener, but sometimes it is.鈥
Many students wouldn鈥檛 witness surgeries like this until medical school, perhaps after they鈥檝e already invested tens of thousands of dollars in their education.
鈥淭his is truly the moment for sophomores and juniors to decide whether they want to spend a quarter million dollars on med school,鈥 Richter said. 鈥淔or students who are studying PT or OT, sometimes, they realize medical school is something they want to pursue.鈥澛犅
For Vieites, her time spent in San Martino Hospital reinforced that her path forward involves medical school.聽
鈥淭he second I saw them remove a tumor, I was intrigued,鈥 Vieites said. 鈥淭he next day, seeing the patient with a smile on their face showed me -- I want to help people and put a smile back on their face.鈥
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