Individuals who wish to work in healthcare-related occupations may have the opportunity to travel while they are obtaining a degree. For example, nursing students enrolled at Chamberlain College recently returned from a two-week international service project in Kenya.
The trip is part of the school's experiential learning program, which enables students to demonstrate and develop their clinical expertise while earning course credits. Moreover, the most recent participants provided basic healthcare and education to Kenyan residents.
Brittani Crowe, one of the students involved with the project, said that she had the opportunity to use her "clinical skills and treat conditions that many nurses in the U.S. never see." She added that "this eye-opening experience will certainly impact me throughout my nursing career."
Susan Fletcher, a professor at Chamberlain, started organizing the trips more than 10 years ago, and said that they are intended to help "students gain a deeper understanding of cultural difference and treating patients in different environmental conditions."
Next year, the school will offer nursing degree candidates the opportunity to engage in a service project in Brazil.
Institutions may provide similar programs in which students can gain hands-on experience by traveling abroad while they earn college credits. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that over the next eight years, there will be a 22 percent increase in jobs for nurses.
