Study Abroad Opportunities
MHA Study Abroad Program
MHA Study Abroad
The MHA program will be hosting another Study Abroad opportunity in Osnabruck, Germany this summer (July – August, 2024). It is open to all SOHP students. Please contact StudyHealthAbroad@nu.edu for more information!
Additionally, The School of Health Professions Study Abroad 2024 program counts as an internship for Public Health and Healthcare Administration Majors. Program fees total approximately $2,000 per student to Hochschule Osnabruck, Germany, plus National University tuition, travel cost (airfare, train, bus), passport (visa for non-US passport holders), and meal expenses. Please send us an email for more information.
“Study abroad was one of the best experiences of my life. I was afraid to go, because I thought there was no way I would make any friends in such a short time, but I met amazing people who I still talk to. The course offered was great, but the learning you do outside of the classroom is just as meaningful. Because there are students from all over the world, you get hands on experience at how to work with different cultures and belief systems, and how to integrate those into the work you do. I will cherish my time in Germany for the rest of my life.”
– Courtney Sheppard – NU Alumni, Master of Health Administration
MHA Study Abroad Program
Osnabruck, Germany, July 2023
MPH Study Abroad Program
MPH Study Abroad
The MPH Program has offered study abroad coursework with service learning for 8 years. The course is offered as a culminating experience that has been approved by our accrediting body, CEPH, and led by Dr. Gina Piane.
“This experience was amazing!! I encourage any healthcare student to take this course and travel to a different country to experience the various healthcare systems, cultures, scenery, and food😊. I haven’t left the United States since my discharge from the military 15 years ago. I hesitated to go at first, but I am glad I did. It gave me the courage to travel again internationally. If an opportunity arises to take a trip like this as an Alumni at NU, I will definitely take it, especially with Dr. Piane.” – Maricar Pajarit
In 2024, Dr. Piane took 15 – 25 students from the Department of Healthcare Leadership (MPH, BSPH, BSHA, and MHA programs) to Uzbekistan for a two-week program, in partnership with VAW. Students participated in staffing and managing public health clinics alongside local medical providers, attended lectures and seminars with VAW, provided Public Health Education during wait times in the clinic, provided public health education tailored to local students, and attended special cultural educational experiences.
In 2019, MPH students in the program partnered with Volunteers Around the World (VAW) during a Study Abroad trip to Cuzco, Peru.
DNAP Study Abroad Program
Part of our emphasis for the Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Program at National University is the importance of engaging our residents globally. We send our seniors, who have already exceeded their case requirements to graduate, on these mission trips so they can put their coursework into practice. Students serve diverse populations in austere environments around the world.
National University and the School of Health Professions has fostered a long relationship with Kenya Relief for years. The past two years has been spent ramping up global efforts for our residents, including full 3-month rotations in mission hospitals and rigorous environments outside of the continental United States.
DNAP Study Abroad
KENYA
Anna Li, RRNA, is a senior with NU’s DNAP program. She just returned from a surgical mission trip to Migori, Kenya with Kenya Relief. The mission took place January 19-28, 2024 focused on adult and pediatric head and neck surgeries, as well as women’s health surgeries.
SIERRA LEONE
This partnership with the SOHP DNAP program and the Saving Lives Initiative in Sierra Leone took place October 18 – November 1, 2023. The goal of the mission is to train national nurse anesthetists in advanced techniques by providing seminars and hands on training in government hospitals.
Sierra Leonese nurse anesthetist using the AirAngel VL 3D printed video laryngoscope. Erin Wilson’s doctoral capstone project involved traveling to Sierra Leon and training anesthetists at local hospitals how to use the 3d printed video laryngoscope for difficult intubations. 
Erin Wilson, a former NU DNAP Program nurse anesthesia resident and current CRNA is teaching a femoral block to a nurse anesthetist from Sierra Leone. 
Erin Wilson and Kathy Rosales presenting during a conference for anesthetists in Sierra Leone, as part of their doctoral capstone requirement for the National University Doctorate of Nurse Anesthesia program.