UIC Nursing leads inaugural study abroad trip to Ireland
UIC Nursing faculty members Krista Jones DNP ’11, MS ’07 and Amanda Sperry DNP ’23, BSN ’97 led 13 students on an inaugural summer study abroad course to Ireland, where they gained exposure to the Irish health care system and explored how differences in systems, culture and environment impact population health.
The three-week elective introduced students to the concept of community as a health system — or the idea that health is affected by societal factors such as schools, housing, transportation, nutrition, employment and social networks. The course included a collaboration with Dublin North City and County, and students learned about the roles and responsibilities of health professionals in population health. The trip culminated in a community assessment project to develop an intervention to address an identified health need.
“Traveling to Ireland gave students insights into opportunities and challenges present within the Irish health care system, and new insights into the U.S. health care system by comparison,” Jones said.
Among the 13 UIC students, 10 were from nursing, two were from the UIC School of Public Health and one was a psychology major.
In addition to visiting public and private health care facilities, the trip featured travel across Ireland — from Dublin to Belfast to Galway – and cultural experiences such as visiting Dáil Éireann (Irish parliament) and the ruins at Monastic City in Glendalough.
“The study abroad experience offered both professional insight and personal growth that will undoubtedly shape my approach to nursing moving forward,” said Roshni Lotwala, a student in the BSN program.
Lotwala had an unplanned opportunity to practice her nursing skills when her group came across an unresponsive teen in Dublin. After checking his vital signs, she and another classmate began CPR while another student called Ireland’s national police service, Garda. The teen was revived and was able to walk away from the scene.
Lotwala called the experience “intense and deeply life-changing,” and said it reaffirmed why she chose a career in nursing.
The trip was the latest in a growing roster of study abroad experiences available to UIC Nursing students. Also this summer, eight students are traveling to Rwanda to learn about maternal and child health, and 11 students went to Spain to learn about culture and health.
“Study abroad experiences like our inaugural program to Ireland are transforming the nursing profession by taking students beyond the classroom and into new health systems, cultural contexts, and real-world challenges,” says Rohan Jeremiah, UIC Nursing’s associate dean for global health. “These encounters expand their clinical thinking, foster cultural humility, and deepen students’ sense of purpose as future nursing and public health professionals.”
Jeremiah adds that the Ireland study abroad program was made possible through the generous support of the Carrol A.M. Smith Global Health Fund and the Virginia Ohlson International Studies Endowment Fund.
— Deborah Ziff Soriano, College of Nursing
