Author: Emily McMennamy | Major: Nursing | Semester: May 2024
Started my first day in London by stopping by the Tower Bridge.
My name is Emily McMennamy, and I am a junior nursing student at the University of Arkansas. I chose the study abroad program Comparative Healthcare through AIFS. I traveled to London, Barcelona, and Florence through this program and got to explore the different healthcare systems in each location. I learned so much about how different healthcare systems are funded and how they play a vital role in the different communities. I chose to study abroad in the May term for a month. The reason I chose to study abroad is because I wanted to explore the world while also learning more about a topic that fascinates me. I have already learned so much about the United States healthcare system by being immersed through our nursing program, but I felt like I did not know much about how healthcare differs across the world. It was a great experience getting to learn about a topic that interests me while also getting to explore Europe. Traveling from country to country and experiencing their culture, food, and traditions will always be one of my favorite parts of this experience.
During my time in this program, I had so many opportunities to tour various healthcare facilities. In London, I did a tour about the history of the plague, learned about the history of the city and the development of medical systems, and visited a sexual health clinic. These tours and clinics taught me so much about how this city has had a great history of plagues and illnesses and learning how they handled these and improved their health can help us in the future prevent more disasters like it. In Barcelona, I got to visit Sant Pau hospital and learn about the different disease prevention methods they used that were innovative at the time. The hospital was designed to have different buildings with underground tunnels connecting them to allow for patients to be transferred, but diseases to be contained. I also got to visit the offices of TESCAM to learn about innovative technologies that are being used to improve public health. On the last day in Barcelona, I attended a lecture with a therapist who was working with youth in the community. He addressed different mental health issues that the community faces and how they are working to overcome them. Lastly, I visited Florence. In Florence, we had tours of the city, visited Ospedale Santa Maria Nuova, and took a cooking class over the Mediterranean diet. We got to focus on how the rich history of Italy impacts healthcare and how their diet supports a healthy lifestyle.
I took a little day trip to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
During my time abroad, I also got to visit three other countries on my own. I also visited Switzerland, Ireland, and Scotland. I had no idea how easy it was in Europe to travel from country to country. I think is what surprised me the most while I was abroad. It was an amazing experience to get to travel to so many different countries that were all so different and unique. They were all so close to one another, but their culture, architecture, and food were all so different. My time abroad was something I will cherish forever. I got to learn so much and see what other parts of the world are like. I do not think this would have been possible for me without the support of the Honors College and their financial support.