Students are urged to explore a full range of options for study abroad and should begin to consider study abroad during their freshman year. Early planning allows time to investigate possibilities and plan rosters efficiently.  The University of Pennsylvania contracts with International SOS to provide students participating in Penn Abroad programs with 24-hour worldwide assistance and emergency services designed to supplement and integrate with the University of Pennsylvania’s services, procedures and policies.

A few Nursing specific options are listed below. While the School of Nursing makes every effort to offer a wide array of study abroad options, programs may not be conducted each year.  Students who meet the following requirements are invited to apply for a School of Nursing Study Abroad Program:

• Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0
• Minimum Science GPA of 2.0
• Minimum of a C in Nursing 131 and 132 (Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II)
• No outstanding incompletes in any courses (Nursing or otherwise)
• Good academic standing

Summer Programs

• Botswana: Community Health
  Students enrolled in Nursing 341 (Nursing in the Community: Clinical) during the summer term may submit an application to complete their Community Heath clinical rotation in Gaborone, Botswana.  This clinical setting provides an unparalleled dimension to the usual community clinical experience.  Supervised by an American nurse and partnering with nursing student peers at the University of Botswana, students have regularly-scheduled and supervised clinical practice in government community health clinics.  The clinical sites focus on tuberculosis/AIDS (Clinic of Princess Marina Hospital), women’s health (Clinic at Princess Marina Hospital), children (Baylor Clinical Center of Excellence), hospice (Holy Cross), and home care (Otse Community Home Base Care Facility).  Students participating in the Community Health Clinical in Botswana write clinical logs, conduct a home-based care project and present their findings, and write reports on cultural aspects of care and how health care policy is carried out in Botswana communities.  Students are expected to discuss their findings on cultural and policy aspects of care with their peers in Philadelphia for comparative analysis.  This unique experience provides students with the opportunity to experience an aspect of global nursing, a concept that is stressed heavily in the didactic component of the course. For more information, contact:
  Marjorie Muecke, PhD, RN, FAAN
  Botswana Faculty Program Director
  215-573-3050
  muecke@nursing.upenn.edu
• Summer 2008 Student Blog
  

• Hong Kong: Comparative Health Systems
  The study abroad experience at the University of Hong Kong is offered to undergraduate and graduate nursing students following the end of the spring semester and before the beginning of Summer Session I after their sophomore, junior, or senior year. Students must enroll in Nursing 535: Comparative Health Systems: Hong Kong during the spring semester prior to their summer experience in Hong Kong. Throughout the spring semester, students attend a series of seminars preparing them for study in Hong Kong, including an email exchange with a nurse in Hong Kong. This course provides a comparative view of aging, public health, and allopathic, traditional and complementary treatment in Hong Kong, SAR (Special Administrative Region) China and the United States within a nursing and collaborative interdisciplinary perspective. During the three-week summer program, students participate in a number of fieldwork experiences designed to give them an overview of the Hong Kong Health System within the focus of the course. Upon completion of the program, students receive one course unit for completion of Nursing 535 (to fulfill their Nursing Elective).  For more information, contact:
  Sarah Kagan, PhD, FAAN, RN
  Penn Nursing England Exchange Faculty Program Director
  215-898-1316
  skagan@nursing.upenn.edu
  
  
  
• Latin America: Maternal and Infant Care in the Americas
  This clinical elective provides an intensive historical, sociopolitical, and cultural perspective of health and health care delivery in the Americas with a special emphasis on Latin America and the Caribbean.  Classroom, direct clinical care, and field experiences are designed to provide students with a broad view of the history and culture system of the country of focus.  The delivery of health care to women and children is explored from a sociopolitical, cultural, clinical, and historical context.  Service learning experiences are an integral component of this course.  The course includes 5 seminars on campus and 10-14 days on site in the country of focus.  Fieldwork in Latin America is offered following the end of the spring semester and before the beginning of Summer Session I after the junior or senior year.  The country of focus may vary each semester.  Knowledge of the Spanish language is preferred, but not required.  Upon completion of the program, students receive one course unit for completion of Nursing 545 (to fulfill their Nursing Elective).  For more information, contact:
  Mamie Guidera, CNM, MSN
  Americas Faculty Program Co-Director
  215-898-6025
  guidera@nursing.upenn.edu
  or
  Dawn Durain, CNM, MPH
  Americas Faculty Program Co-Director
  215-898-2524
  duraind@nursing.upenn.edu
• Summer 2008 Student Blog

• Thailand: Comparative Health Systems
  This fieldwork study abroad program in Thailand is offered to students taking Nursing 535 (Comparing Health Care Systems in an Intercultural Context: Study Abroad), which is taught during the spring semester prior to traveling abroad. Fieldwork based in Bangkok at the Mahidol University School of Nursing is offered following the end of the spring semester and before the  beginning of Summer Session I. The course provides an intensive historical, sociopolitical, and cultural perspective on health and health care delivery in Thailand. Classroom and fieldwork experiences are designed to provide students with a broad view of Thailand’s history and culture. While in Thailand, students will spend 2-3 weeks exploring the health care system.
  Knowledge of the Thai language is not required in order to apply for the program, although informal self-instruction in Thai is encouraged.   For more information, contact:
  Marjorie Muecke, PhD, RN, FAAN
  Thailand Faculty Program Director
  215-573-3050
  muecke@nursing.upenn.edu

Independent Study/Internships Abroad

In between the spring and summer terms (3-4 weeks) or during the summer, students have the option of doing an independent study or internship abroad.  Students must design their study abroad experience with a faculty sponsor and develop assignments to complete during or after the trip.  They then present their study to the School community.  In the past, students have done independent studies and internships in such countries as Cuba, Mexico, Armenia, Guatemala, Botswana, and Kenya.