Hallo, my name is Nora! I am a rising senior Nutrition Science major on the pre-PA track, and I have officially completed my first week of Pitt’s Comparative Healthcare in Graz program! As an aspiring healthcare professional, I chose to go on this trip to learn more about how Austria’s universal healthcare system functions to serve it’s population and how it differs from that of the United States.

So far (in addition to exploring the city of Graz), we have toured a medical school, hospitals, shelters, pharmacies, and healthcare counseling centers to learn about the healthcare training, professionals, infrastructure, and accessibility of the Austrian healthcare system. As the trip continues on, I hope to learn more about the history of healthcare legislation in Austria, how cultural practices influence healthcare, and how the healthcare system here functions on both the federal and state levels.

As I continue learning throughout this trip, I hope to gain a deeper understanding of how historic and cultural influences shaped both the Austrian and United States’ healthcare systems. I believe that learning this information will provide me with a more comprehensive understanding of the ways in which these respective healthcare systems work, as well as their strengths and downfalls. This knowledge will then allow me to eventually function optimally in the healthcare system I will work within while simultaneously advocating for improvement to one day serve patients to the best of my ability.