The Stanley A. Hamel Traveling Fellowship was a transformative experience enabling me to immerse myself in a new culture and learn how Spain influenced colonial America’s healthcare.
Over 35 days, I traveled across Spain visiting historical archives, museums, and important health institutions. My two main takeaways included learning about Spanish “royal Protomedicato” and how Spain’s religion impacted colonial U.S. healthcare. I successfully explored Spain’s historical impact on colonial American medicine, but I also returned with valuable insights into how the American healthcare system can still learn from Spain’s current preventative healthcare approaches.
Spain implemented “royal Protomedicato” for their colonies in the New World, which included areas in present-day Florida and Texas. The royal Protomedicato served as Spain’s guidelines for licensing medical professionals and regulating pharmacies. While the royal Protomedicato aimed to protect the public from unqualified physicians, its strict criteria led to increased shortages of doctors. This led to difficulties in early colonial U.S. healthcare.
My travels also revealed how deeply interwoven religion and healthcare were in Spain, establishing precedents that remain visible in the United States today. At the San Juan de Dios Museum, I learned St. John of God opened a hospital in Granada, Spain to dedicate his life to healing the sick, poor, and vulnerable.
Jade Gagnon outside the General Archives of the Indies in Sevilla, Spain
These beliefs continue today, as demonstrated by the Hospitallers of Saint John expanding internationally to the United States with locations in Florida, New Mexico, California, New Jersey, and Illinois to provide healthcare, food, shelter, and spiritual support to those in need. Catholicism had a very strong presence in Spain and continues to have strong presence in the United States, with Catholic medical centers still present today.
While Spain historically shaped parts of early American medicine, its current healthcare system offers valuable lessons for the U.S. today. Spain spends significantly less per capita towards healthcare than the United States, yet consistently has better health outcomes and a longer life expectancy. As a future health care clinician, I wanted to investigate firsthand why this is the case. Despite limited Spanish speaking skills, I stepped outside my comfort zone and interviewed locals and pharmacists all over Spain, in addition to visiting several hospitals.
My interviews revealed people firmly believed public health insurance and the Mediterranean lifestyle were key factors in having good healthcare. Unanimously, people favored public health insurance because it is free and the quality is better than private health insurance. Additionally, the Mediterranean lifestyle of eating healthy whole foods, regular exercise, work-life balance, and strong relationships were greatly valued by Spaniards as great forms of preventative medicine. Seeing packed plazas on a weekday afternoon was not just a cultural observation for me; it also resembled a form of community-centered well-being that effectively prevents burnout and chronic stress.
I am extremely grateful for this opportunity and have grown tremendously throughout the experience. This fellowship has been one of the most valuable experiences for me, and I will use what I have learned to become a better, more well-rounded health care clinician.
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Inside the San Juan de Dios
Museum in Granada, Spain
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Jade Gagnon interviewing a museum curator about Spain's current healthcare system
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The Royal Academy of Medicine
in Madrid, Spain
