UNMC students participated in many international travel and global health electives this year. Thus far in 2024, 28 students have traveled to seven countries spread over four continents. Countries visited included Canada, Costa Rica, India, Japan, Mexico, Peru and Rwanda. An additional nine students have global health electives scheduled for fall 2024 (Canada and Kenya). Students represent the disciplines of medicine, nursing, physician assistant, physical therapy, pharmacy and public health.
Included in these statistics are six nursing students and two physical therapy students who participated in the Mexico medical service trip, which was organized by the Student Alliance for Global Health (SAGH) and led by Sara Pirtle, program manager. UNMC’s partner university, Universidad Anahuac Veracruz (UAV), hosted the group and arranged for them to visit local hospitals and clinics and participate in presentations to elementary school children. Each UNMC student was paired with a UAV student and stayed with that student’s family during the week. The trip, which took place in Cordoba, Mexico, occurred during the March spring break week.
Isa Almanza, nursing student, said about the 2024 service trip to Mexico, this year was set up very similar to last year, and we went to all the same places again. The one addition this year was that we went to a private sector hospital. It was very interesting because it looked more like a hotel than a hospital. It was amazing to see the drastic difference between the public and private hospitals. We also got to tour a rehabilitation facility where children and adults go for therapy such as speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy and behavioral therapy for learning disabilities and mood disorders.”
“I had a wonderful experience last year and wanted to go again and create more memories with the students and make an impact on the community,” Mitsy Das, nursing student, said. “What I enjoyed most is that this year we had a bigger group of UNMC students go so it made the experience more memorable. We got to see and do more hands-on learning this year which was a very cool experience.”