TB or no TB? That is the [medical] question between two countries.

Figure 1:  Belgium offers the highest-quality medical care, which is regarded among the best healthcare systems in Europe and the world... that doesn't necessarily mean their medical procedures are the same as that of America's.

We arrived in Antwerp today and spent my entire 3 hour break running around the city to find a medical institution that would run a TB test on me. To my surprise, the TB test isn’t a standard medical procedure in Belgium and it’s a very exotic request to just have a TB test done without having been exposed to TB at all. It was slightly amusing to see the reactions on all the receptionists’ faces whenever my GSI, Petra, would explain my request to them in Dutch. The following was the standard conversation held in Dutch:

Petra: Hi. Here’s an American student who needs a TB test done.

Receptionist: Where did she get exposed? How long has she been exposed for?

Petra: She never got exposed. She just needs this test to apply for her institution back in America.

[Receptionist stares blankly.]

Petra: Yes, I know, it’s awkward.

[Receptionist smiles and starts writing information to refer us to another medical institution.]

The above conversation was repeated until we finally agreed that this TB test is not going to happen in Belgium and that I’m going to have to wait until I reach the states to run this standard American medical procedure.

It was interesting to see this clash between the American and Belgian medical system because it gave me a chance to think more critically of the American medical system. After hearing the logic behind the Belgian system of doing the TB test, I understood why they thought my request for a TB test was exotic. They only do a TB test if you’ve been exposed to TB by spending some time in a third world country, exploring a tropical rain forest, or if you somehow encountered a person with TB and caught it yourself. They never just have someone walk into a medical institution asking for a TB test to be done – that’s so awkward to them, and they have logical reasons to think that way. If I’ve never been in a place where I could potentially catch TB, or if no one around has ever caught TB from me, or if I’ve never coughed up blood or exhibited any symptoms of TB then… I most likely don’t have TB right? Why would you need to take a TB test if you’re not deathly sick in any way? You would only need to take a series of tests to identify exactly what illness you caught during your adventures in a third world country. That’s the way Belgians think: If it isn’t necessary, then don’t do it - and to my amusement, they now think that Americans are weird for doing TB tests randomly.

Since I’ve lived in America for most of my life, I always thought these medical procedures were normal, but I’m thankful I got to experience another culture’s medical system just so I can see things done differently. Americans do TB tests to prove to the institution they work for that they do not have TB, so it’s safe to admit them into this program. Then no one has to worry that some highly contagious disease will spread among all the students or employees of the institution.