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 Switzerland and Health Care Systems from Around the World 1By: Alex Smith Gormley

This summer I have the amazing opportunity to be the Assistant Program Director for East Carolina Univerity’s summer study abroad program to Switzerland. This trip is specifically designed for “pre-health” majors, with 20 of the 26 students interested in attending PT school.  We will make official site visits to the World Health Organization, the United Nations, the Red Cross, and University of Geneva hospital, where we will be given a tour of their PT facilities.  We will also explore Swiss history, culture and healthy lifestyles by visiting famous sites.  If you are interested in checking out our tentative schedule, please Click Here.

PART I

For a practicing health care professional, knowledge of best practices and policies, not just from the United States but from around the world, is essential to providing effective care.  It is especially important to explore health care systems from countries that continually rate higher than the United States in health status. The Swiss healthcare system is considered by many to be one of the best in the world. Thus, I wanted to explore health care systems from countries that continually rate higher than the United States in health status, specifically Switzerland, as the Swiss healthcare system is considered by experts to be one of the best in the world. The better informed I am about what works worldwide, the better I can advocate here in the United States. For our Evidence Based II class I developed a research paper to answer the question, “For low-income patients, does a government-mandated universal coverage healthcare system result in a higher quality of life/healthier population compared to the current U.S. system?”. My Evidence Table and Research Paper can be found by clicking the respective links.

PART II

It was my responsility to create an online module for our students that informed them about Swiss geography, culture, history, and health care, specifically physical therapy.  I also helped develop various assignments that correspond to the information I presented in the module, specifically creating the assignments related to health care and physical therapy.  The students will be required to complete the module and assignments approximately 2.5 weeks before we leave on our trip.  I was also responsible for finding relevent healthcare articles and presenting them to the students.  During our time in Switzerland, I will conduct “fireside chats” in which I will lead discussions involving the critical comparisons of the US and Swiss health care systems.  All assignments will be emailed to me.  Please Click to see the Swiss Online Module and Assignments.

Part III 

Flyer

One of the major learning goals for my Capstone Project was to hone my mentoring skills by guiding and supporting undergraduate pre-professional students.  For me,  “mentor/teacher” is an incredibly important professional role because I strongly feel that the present trains the future.  I am excited and honored that through my Capstone, I can begin this role before I even graduate.  Because of the large amount of prospective PT students traveling with us, I developed a PowerPoint presentation entitled “A Third Year DPT Student Tells All,” which served as an  informative session for the pre-PT participants in the Study Abroad program along with other students at East Carolina University interested in PT.  I created a flyer (seen on the right) and advertised it to our students in the study abroad program, along with students majoring in exercise physiology, pre-health, and public health.  Approximately 40 students attended my hour-long presentation.  I also administered a Prequiz and Postquiz to assess learning and to evaluate my presentation.  Results of these quizzes can be accessed HERE

1

Thanks so much for visiting my Capstone page! Special thanks to my committee members Dr. Sloane Burke and Mike McCammon for all of their help and support.  Also thanks to my Capstone advisor, Karen McCulloch.  Special thanks also to Lisa Johnston and Jon Hacke for their help with my presentation “A Third Year DPT Student Tells All.” I hope you enjoyed it!

6 Responses to “Switzerland and Health Care Systems from Around the World”

  1. Alex Smith Gormley

    Thanks for your comments, Cassie! I think that PT advocacy is critical and I hope that through this project and my visit to Europe I will be able to come back to the US with some great ideas!

    Alex

    Reply
  2. Alex Smith Gormley

    Hi Paula,
    That is so awesome that you were able to able to do an independent study of rehab in England. I bet that was very interesting! During our University of Geneva (HUG) therapy visit I will definitely ask if the Bad Ragaz Method of Water Therapy is still popular.

    I also have a British friend who is a Doctor in England. As far as I know, the MD education is still as you describe it. She went straight out of high school to medical school (it is the same with law school…FYI). She does not make as much money as doctors in the US; however she has no student debt and was able to start practicing at a much younger age.

    Thanks for your great comments! 🙂

    Reply
  3. clshort

    Hey Alex!!
    I really enjoyed reading more about your project! Like Michelle, I remember reading your plan last semester, but it was very neat to see the outcome! As you know, in many of our classes, we’ve talked about health care reform and how we compare to other countries around the world. I think that this project really highlighted the education of Swiss health care and physical therapy, as well as the personal relation to U.S. physical therapy- through your experience. Advocacy continues to be an important aspect of PT, and you have definitely begun your journey as a professional doing just that. I’m sure these students will really look up to you during the trip! I can’t wait to hear more about it!
    Great job!
    Cassie

    Reply
  4. paulaanw

    Alex, Hey! Your entire package looks and sounds very exciting. I hope that you have some time to visit clinics and be with the Swiss PTs. When I did an independent study of Rehab in England back in the late 70’s, I had the opportunity to work w/ a Swiss PT in a therapy pool learning the Bad Ragaz Method of Water Therapy. Ask the PTs if that method is still popular. In the Early 80’s, I attended the UN Conference on Disability in Vienna. See if you can meet some medical directors and get contact info for their rehab centers and interview them on their philosophy and schedules. Perhaps you can spend a day there sometime. When In England, I was surprised to hear that those med students began Med School directly at age 18 years old. That save 4 years of tuition, no salary etc. for less years. See if that is still the case. The Swiss know what the Brits are doing. A conclusion in your evidence table stated that the Europeans thought that “socialized/universal med would be good here except that the MD’s, etc. would not make as much money. The MD’s there are taken care of. Find out how. I do know that the PT’s in the late 70’s and 80’s did NOT make anywhere near what the PTs in the States made at that time. All of you work looks very appealing and specifically helpful to a PT school applicant. Enjoy! Paula Anne-Marie

    Reply
  5. Alex Smith Gormley

    Thanks Michelle! I am so excited for this awesome opportunity!

    Reply
  6. llemmons

    Alex this sounds like an amazing opportunity! I remember reading your plan for this project; it’s nice to see the end products. From the results of the pre-test/post-test comparison, it looks like your products were effective. I am excited to hear about the outcome of your trip in Auguest as well. Good luck!

    Reply

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