SOC 490-2 Week 5

This week we went to a public hospital in Rome called Santo Spirito. We got intruduced to the hospital and learned a bit more on Universal Healthcare in Italy. We then went on a tour of the hospital to get to see some of the departments in the hospital, and compare them to the U.S.

I really enjoyed seeing a hospital in another country. I found it very interesting to be able to see the difference from a public hospital in Italy, to one in America. The thing in Santo Spirito that I was most surprised about was the technology. I was extremely impressed with the medication dispenser. Since so many people, especially at hospitals, abuse medications, I found it very pleasing that they have a dispenser that is extremely high tech and only allows the exact medication that is prescribed to be dispensed. I feel that these most likely help to minimize abuse of medications on so many levels.

One thing that I was kind of disappointed in was their levels of cleanliness. I did notice sinks to wash hands in, but I did not see one antibacterial dispenser in the hospital. At most hospitals in America, there are antibacterial dispensers, as well as sinks, all over the place. It really frusterated me to see that they were not making more, and bigger attempts at minimizing the levels of bacteral that are transfered thoughout the hospital on a daily basis.

The last thing about the hospital that really bothered me was the amount of privacy that they provided the patients with. Being a nursing major, and having worked in a hospital before, I have come to realize that privacy is a very important thing, especially for the ill. While in Cardiac Department at Santa Spirito, it came to my attention that the patients had little to no privacy. There were tiny curtains between each bed that were barely pulled. The same was in the Maternity Ward. There were two women laying in beds waiting to go into labor, and there were no curtains at all between the two of them. Seeing as Italians do not care as much about personal space as Americans do, this issue with privacy may be perfectly acceptable for them, and that is okay. That is just one of the things that I noticed about the hospital that severly troubled me.

All-in-all, I had a wonderful time at the Santa Spirito. I absolutely loved seeing the difference between an Italian hospital and an American one. Even though a couple things did disappoint me, I think that it was a wonderful experience and I would love to learn more about the healthcare system in Italy, as well as the policies and whatnot in the hospital setting.