Submitted by Makayla Whitting on the 2020 winter session program in Portugal sponsored by the Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences and College of Arts and Sciences…
This past week in Lisbon has been one that I will never forget. The program I am on involves shadowing doctors at a local hospital in the city of Lisbon. This week, I was in the neurosurgery department and saw different types of patients and procedures throughout the week. This experience has allowed me to see the healthcare system of not only a different country, but a different continent. This experience has been eye-opening because there are major differences between the two systems. In Portugal, healthcare is considered a basic right and everyone has access to free healthcare. The majority of hospitals are publicly owned which allows anyone to access healthcare services free of charge. Although this system has its advantages and disadvantages, it was interesting to compare it to the healthcare system in the United States. This experience has also showed me that doctors around the world have a common goal of helping others, no matter what.