A group of students from the 63rd Specialisation Course in Public Health (CESP) at the NOVA National School of Public Health (NOVA NSPH) took part in a study visit to the Ramón y Cajal Hospital in Madrid. The visit, which took place on 28 October, was led by CESP co-coordinator and NOVA NSPH professor Paulo Sousa.
The visit gave them an inside look at this reference centre in the field of Preventive Medicine and Hospital Public Health in Spain, and allowed them to learn about the Spanish health system.
The students were welcomed by the deputy director of the Rámon y Cayal Hospital, Fernando Roldan Moll, by Carmen Guillen Ponce, director of the hospital’s Knowledge Management Department, and by the service director, Jesús Aranaz, who had already given a session to the CESP students in May.
On this visit, the students had the opportunity to visit the Sterilisation Centre, learn about the different areas of activity in the department and exchange ideas with the department’s professionals, including interns in the speciality.
NOVA NSPH has an established partnership with this institution, which has proved to be very fruitful, and which was reinforced by this visit. This trip represented added value for the students, who were able to expand their knowledge of best practices in other countries, having access to an international learning opportunity focussed on practical examples.
This partnership has been relevant for both institutions, enabling the exchange of knowledge and student mobility between NOVA NSPH and the Hospital. The students found this visit very useful, allowing them to increase their knowledge of best practices in patient safety in other countries, as well as realising the potential of public health at hospital level that the current model of Local Health Units makes possible.