Plan ahead
Things happen, Don’t be taken by surprise. An untreated health problem is the fastest way to ruin your stay in Madrid. The changes you will experience in the way you eat, the physical exercise you do, the amount of sleep you get and your daily routines may cause you to require medical help at some point.
Obtain appropriate insurance coverage. Health care is just as expensive overseas as it is in the United States, so make sure you have full and comprehensive health and accident coverage protection during your stay abroad. Try to understand the tricky details of a policy: deductibles, co-payments, pre-existing conditions, etc. Make sure you know how to make a claim from abroad. Most medical insurances will require that you pay up front and submit a claim for reimbursement. For more information, you may contact SU authorized insurance agent, Haylor, Freyer & Coon (1-800-289-1501) or check out other insurance providers' plans available for students studying abroad.
Make important information available to us. Although it is not required, it is advisable to provide SU Abroad with the necessary details for your stay in Madrid to be trouble-free. We are accustomed to handling a great variety of situations and the more information we have about our students, the better prepared we can be to help you. When you fill out the Health Information Form # 3, rest assured that the information you share will be kept confidential.
A medical check-up. During your stay in Madrid, we will be offering you the possibility to participate in activities that will require physical effort: kayaking, horse-back riding, hiking, diving etc. With this in mind, it is a good idea to get a complete medical check-up before boarding the plane to come to Madrid. And to avoid unforeseen potential problems, you should also visit the dentist and the gynecologist.
Counselling. It is difficult to give a one, single recommendation for students who seek counselling since the situation of each is unique. It is, however, always advisable to ask your current counselor if it is in your best interest to study abroad or not. You must consider how the inevitable changes you will experience will affect you. Will the stressors be overwhelming for you? Also remember that if you choose to seek counselling while in Madrid, there will be an economic commitment as well. The SU Madrid program does not have its own counselling center, but in function of your needs, we can put you in contact with a suitable bilingual professional who we have worked with before.
Bring supplies in your carry-on luggage. Due to the fact that US prescriptions are not accepted in Spanish pharmacies and that shipping medicines across international borders is extremely complex, we recommend that you bring enough of your prescription medication from home to last through the semester, along with a doctor’s prescription and breakdown of the generic composition of the drug. Typical examples of what students bring are EpiPen, seasonal allergies drugs, birth control pills, ADD/ADHD medication and contact lenses.