This summer, Sofia is doing DRCLAS’ Health and Spanish Immersion Program in Santiago, where she is learning first-hand about medicine and public health in Santiago. In addition taking a health-focused Spanish language course and volunteering on health-related projects, Sofia shadows doctors in Santiago’s consultorios (public clinics) and public hospitals. She also has the opportunity to visit a wide range of medical institutions in order to experience the extraordinarily disparate realities of the Chilean health system: from urban public clinics and hospitals to rural health posts, and from the traditional medicine of the Mapuche to the most advanced private hospital in Chile. Through this experience, she is gaining a comprehensive view of the country, its people, and its healthcare system.
