Ramón y Cajal and The Royal Palace

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While a few of us were able to start clinical yesterday in El Centro de Salud, or Spain's primary healthcare center, our clinical rotations at a large hospital in Madrid started today! It's called Ramón y Cajal and is a hospital of 11 floors and over 1,100 beds. We are working with nurses who are also professors at the University of Alcalá's College of Nursing, so they are great with students and are giving us lots of opportunities to learn. Some of us worked in the Emergency Department as triage nurses and others on the pediatric floor. Without sharing specifics, it sounds like everyone has been having a great experience and the nurses and patients are more than welcoming! My experience at El Centro de Salud was similar in that they just about wrapped their arms around us and want to learn about our healthcare system just as much as we want to learn about theirs. Everyone here seems to be pleased with their socialistic system which allows everyone to have free public health care. I personally am still forming an opinion because there are many factors that play a role in a successful healthcare system, but I do love that people are more willing to visit their doctor and nurse (nurses also have their own patients who they see consistently, just like the doctor) because they aren't worried about paying. They are HUGE advocates of community and preventative health and I am very impressed with how involved they are! I think we could learn a lot from these nurses!! The next few days we will be in both El Centro de Salud as well as Ramón y Cajal having wonderful experiences that I am sure we will love to share more of upon our return to the States.

This afternoon we did some shopping in Calle Mayor and tried some yummy foods like Paella, pastries, and... the occasional pizza. The main attraction was our visit to El Palacio Real (the Royal Palace), which is kind of the equivalent to the US White House, however, it has over 2000 rooms and the architecture/decor are nothing like our president's living quarters. It is exceptionally intricate and detailed, and lives up to it's rumors! At times it was a little overwhelming to have so much going on, but it definitely displayed Spain's beautiful name. The royal family still supposedly lives in the palace, however, I don't believe that is actually the case. It is generally open for tours and the occasional visit from special guests such as the Queen of England. We consider ourselves just as special, but we weren't allowed to take pictures of the dinning room table for 50+ people, none the less actually be seated there for dinner. One can only dream. And speaking of dreams... I would like to have my own because we have to leave for the hospital even before the sun rises in the morning! Hasta mañana amiguitos!!

-Kirsten

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