Hospital Universitario Puerta del Mar

Health visits on the trip included: the nursing university, the main/only hospital in Cadiz, a pharmacy, and a nursing home. As part of the visit to the hospital, a nurse led us through various floors and departments. On each floor, we were introduced to a new nurse that described their floor and job. It was interesting to see the differences between hospitals in Spain and the United States. We noticed differences in security and nurse to patient ratios.

Our group with the nurse who led us through the hospital

The visit to the pharmacy highlighted a lot of differences between the Spanish and U.S. healthcare system. Each pharmacy is privately owned and they are legally required to be a certain distance apart. It is also legally required for each pharmacy to charge the same prices. There is no “Big Pharma” in Spain like in the United States; because of this, the drugs are much cheaper.

The nursing home we visited originally housed widows before it was converted. The residents looked very happy and healthy due to the clean and sunny conditions. The coordinator took us through the gym/physical rehab room, entertainment rooms, a garden, and showed us a standard resident’s bedroom.

The Cathedral

The Cadiz Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church built using money from trade between Spain and America. It is the bigger of two churches in Cadiz; the other church, Santiago church, stands across the square. Because the Cathedral took 116 to finish, you can see three distinct styles in the architecture. The base is in the originally intended Baroque style, then you can see some rococo elements, and finally you see neoclassical style at the top. After exploring the inside of the Cathedral, our group also walked up the tower to see a beautiful view of the city. (tip: wear comfortable shoes, I did not and regret it!)

View from the top of the tower
Ceiling in the Cathedral
In front of the Cathedral doors

Torre Tavira

Una Buena Vista

The Torre Tavira is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Cadiz. Standing at 45 meters above sea level, it is the tallest point in the city and the place to go for an amazing view of Cadiz. Our group entered the building and climbed up many flights of stairs until reaching one of two exhibition rooms of the tower. After going up another flight of stairs and passing through another exhibition, we were brought to a small, dark room where there was a camera capable of projecting the city live onto a dome in the center of the room.

At the top of the building, our group was able to take many beautiful photos of the view of Cadiz from above. The city overview makes for a stunning backdrop for group photos as well! Being on top of the tower allowed you to take a 360 degrees photo of the whole province of Cadiz. Along with the amazing view, the weather was perfect for a day on top of city!

El Grupo de Español de Salud

Parque Genoves

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Hola! Within the first couple days in Cadiz myself and a few others found a beautiful park named Parque Genoves. It is conveniently located right across the street from campus. We explored this park before meeting for a tour of the city. The park is filled with beautiful trees, flowers and other exotic plants. It also looks out onto the ocean which adds to the amazing views. Below you can find some pictures from the park!

Beautiful covered walkway in the park.
Large tree in the park. Es muy grande!

We arrive in Cadiz

We arrived in Cadiz, Spain on Sunday July 21st. There are 4 nursing students and one public health student and myself who will be taking a 3 week course, Medical Spanish for Health Care Professionals. There was plenty of  time in the Madrid airport to get to know each other as well as the other students who were traveling for another UMass Lowell language program in Cadiz.

Cadiz is a beautiful and historic city in southern Spain. We left Massachusetts with very HOT weather and arrived in Spain to very HOT weather. Most of us are used to the hot New England summers but we are told by the people in Cadiz that the weather on our arrival was much warmer than usual. After our arrival most of us settled into our host homes and explored the city a bit. Classes start on Monday morning. Our program will consist of a morning and afternoon academic session where we learn basic Spanish and also some medical terminology. We will also have focused presentations from local nurses and other health care workers to share their information about health/nursing care in Cadiz. We will be visiting the school of nursing, a hospital, a geriatric center and a pharmacy as part of our health care excursions. We will also join some of the other students from UMASS Lowell in cultural excursions so we can appreciate this city and the food, music and history. Please check back to learn more about our trip. We will post pictures as well.

Submitted by Valerie King – Clinical Associate Professor, Solomont School of Nursing- University of  Massachusetts Lowell 

Welcome!

A 3 week intensive faculty led study abroad program with a  focus on Spanish for healthcare professionals.

University of Cadiz Spain faculty along with Prof. Valerie King, DNP, FNP-BC from UMass Lowell Solomont School of Nursing will lead a program of language, cultural and healthcare excursions.

You can also read blogs from previous and current trips to Cadiz listed below or from other destinations across the globe UMass Lowell students travel to.

Current & Previous Cadiz Study Abroad Trip Blogs: