The goals of our Cross Cultural Health Care class are for students to:
- Develop a critical awareness of self and others within an intercultural context
- Cultivate global awareness of social contexts, systems, and institutions
- Assess biomedicine, popular and folk systems, human needs, and health care delivery in varying cultural contexts
Students begin preparing for the cross culture experience in the fall of their first semester. In September, new students attend “Cross Culture Journeys,” which is a time of sharing from students who recently returned from their life changing experiences. New students can learn about the differences in destinations and expectations, and can get excited for what awaits them in their own cross culture experience. Later in the fall semester, informational meetings are held where destinations are announced and the costs associated with each location are given. By mid-February, everyone has learned of where he or she will spend three weeks in June. The excitement really begins to build as travel arrangements are made in the spring. In the days leading up to their departure, students take part in orientation sessions learning how to best insert themselves into the culture, and how to make the most of a rich learning experience. Everyone returns in early July for a time of debriefing and reflecting on personal and professional growth. This year all students will be traveling to several cities in Peru with Professor Kristopher Schmidt. We expect history to repeat itself, which means our students will return having experienced personal growth and a new worldview, noting the experience as one of the highlights of their time in the MS in Biomedicine program.
