Nursing Study Abroad Programs in South Africa

Tremendous staff. Environment is like none other and they accommodate well. For Seville, the city has been tremendous and CIEE gives you a proper introduction to this magnificent city. Whether an intern or a student during one of the sessions, you can get along with everyone and overcome the anxieties of a new city

I would be very likely to recommend CIEE Study Abroad to a friend because this program gives you many opportunities to explore the city you are in as well as the surrounding areas. All of the employees are very kind people who will be their to uplift and support the students who are abroad.

Studying abroad was an experience full of uncertainties and firsts for me as someone who hadn't previously had the privilege of traveling internationally and intentionally. I could not have picked a better and more fitting program for me than the SIT IHP Health and Community program that ran course in India, South Africa, and Jordan during the Spring of 2022. The supports we had available to us students were well-thought out and ready for use. When issues came up, we were able to discuss them either with ourselves or our staff. Having homestays in India and Jordan allowed me to have deeper connections with the community and cultures that we were engaging with, which I still foster today. Our group culture was to strive for our best in our assignments, learning, discussions, and immersive experiences outside of the traditional classroom since the world is the true classroom. Every day of the program provided another lesson, another moment of growth, and another moment of connection with people who are gracious enough to provide us with their knowledge and care. My life has not been the same since study abroad and I am beyond grateful for the challenging and wonderful experience I had with people who are passionate about enhancing their worldview through meaningful action and community-building.

I have had a great experience, it is organized and comes at a good cost. The staff on-site is very supportive and helpful (as well as Brooke in Portland), but we had an emergency situation and the Portland higher-ups didn't handle it well, nor did anyone answer the emergency number provided to us.

I feel that CIEE tries to have activities for us and I really do feel that I am learning a lot here. Also everyone here seems really nice and I feel that though we are different a lot of the students seem to have the same mindset and its a good chance to network.

CIEE is very well-staffed and they do everything they can to make sure you have the best experience possible. Everyone is friendly, the rules and guidelines are laid out for you, and the excursions CIEE plans are a blast!!

This has been the best summer of my life. Everything about CIEE has blown me away. Virginia Niera has been an extremely attentive and helpful program director. She and Antonio Romero were both quick to offer help with any issues I might have. The professors, Amador Fernandez and Antonio Rodriguez, taught with enthusiasm and care. Each class genuinely excited and intrigued me. They graded fairly and truly cared about students understanding and learning. We took informative, fun, and interesting trips. They were all well-planned and extremely enjoyable. The tour guides we had, Adrian and Alicia, were knowledgable and made the tours very meaningful. The trip to Morocco really opened my eyes to other cultures and ways of life. Finally, my homestay could not have been better. I really got close to my host family, and I felt like I had a place in Seville where I could be totally comfortable. I have already recommended this program to two of my friends, and I plan to encourage more to do it if they w

My first experience abroad and I love it here. I feel that CIEE tries to have activities for us and I really do feel that I am learning a lot here. Also everyone here seems really nice and I feel that though we are different a lot of the students seem to have the same mindset and its a good chance to network.

Study abroad is something that everyone needs to be apart o at least once in their lifetime, and CIEE was a great way to do it. I think I would recommend this because we’re given a place to reside in a foreign country with people who have no problem helping you at the drop of a pen. The CIEE community becomes your family and makes you feel like you’re at home and always offer things to do for free or at least help to make your study abroad experience as great as it can. It’s also nice that you can choose from different programs and either be a student for half and an intern for the other half, be an open campus student and stay for an entire semester, or every 6 weeks choose a new home. It’s an amazing experience for a reasonable price but an opportunity and of a lifetime.

I had the time of my life studying abroad in Cape Town, South Africa! The city has every type of vacation you could want in one: beaches, beautiful landscapes and mountains for hiking, a vibrant nightlife, downtown shopping, art, and events, historical sites and museums, vineyards and wine-tastings, and much more! There is so much to explore and the time truly flies by. For classes, I took community health, and nutrition & HIV. The teachers were passionate and engaging, and I learned so much from them not just about South African healthcare but also about their culture and life. The classes are fascinating and you truly learn a lot and are at times academically challenged. The final week of the program is class-free, and really just about traveling the country (including a safari!) before you unfortunately have to head back home. If you choose this program, you will make lifelong friends, live in the most incredible city on earth, and change your entire perspective on health, healthcare, and equality.

Before I left to study abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, I was expecting to learn about public health in a new setting. My experience in Cape Town exceeded all of my expectations. Arranged by IES, we lived in a new hotel/dorm setting in a safe and upscale area of Cape Town (it even had a market inside!). Every weekday, we did service learning at different hospitals and clinics around and outside of Cape Town. We were able to shadow doctors, dentists, physical therapists, and pharmacists. I learned more than I could ever possibly imaging through service learning, and I gained an appreciation for and better understanding of different fields in health care. In the afternoons, we took a class from a local professor. We got to learn about public health as a whole in South Africa, and I think the class really complemented our service learning. Outside of academics, IES arranged many amazing field trips that allowed us to explore South Africa in a safe way. I greatly appreciated all that IES did to ensure that we had a complete and safe study abroad experience. I really fell in love with the country, and I can't wait to return one day!

I am so incredibly happy that I decided to take this program. It involves a lot of field trips already scheduled within the program, consisting of all the places you have to see if you're in South Africa. If I were to schedule these things on my own, I wouldn't have known to cover every single item, and each experience was higher than my expectations ever were. We stayed in a nice and safe area, but it was also important to explore and understand the townships and the levels of disparity within the community. This experience really taught me a lot and showed me a lot into the life of South Africa. Shadowing the hospitals and clinics gave me a lot of insight into their health care system as well as different diseases or conditions patients face. My favorite part was the nature!! Table Mountain, Lion's Head, and Devil's Peak were always visible when you walk out your door, and hiking these three mountains gave amazing and unbelievable views. I highly recommend this location to anyone!!

Enjoy the perfect mix of education and fun in this magical city in one of the culturally richest countries in the world. To start you get to live in comfortable apartments in a gated community so on top of the luxury of the living arrangement you also get security. In my case we had roommates who inevitably became my best friends on the trip. Being so close to University of Cape Town you also get to be around college students from the area and surrounding regions of South Africa. With this close proximity it was easy to befriend and learn from locals about the real issues facing the people of South Africa. Half of the educational side of the abroad program is class and the other half is volunteer hours in the public healthcare system. Classes are focused on learning about the history and public healthcare system of South Africa and how South Africans are trying to change the system for the better of all people. Learning from people who currently are involved in reforming healthcare in South Africa made the course more engaging and meaningful to me and all my classmates. The volunteer work took place in a primary health clinic in Cape Town and allowed for hands-on experience with patients and engagement with fellow medical staff from doctors to nurses. Going in the summer for American students however means being in South Africa for their winter, but have no fear, the highs are around the 70s and lows around the 50s with occasional rain. Good news is the beautiful days outnumbered the rainy days and with each beautiful day comes a breathtaking sunset which can viewed from any number of beaches and mountain tops. Bottom line if you have any interest in healthcare like pre-med, pre-pharm, pre-PA, and nursing students or in public health you will not only get hands on experience in the field with your volunteer hours but also gain great insight into the issues facing the public healthcare system in South Africa and the rest of the world.

I studied abroad in Cape Town for seven weeks this summer. It was the most amazing experience I have ever had. I took public health classes that focused on the different aspects of health care in South Africa. These classes were supplemented by being able to volunteer in both a primary and tertiary health care facility. I worked in a small public clinic in Cape Town along with a primary Hospital in Nelspruit. Volunteering in both of these were amazing experiences because I got to see all aspects of the healthcare system including; surgeries, the pharmacy, work done by both doctors and nurses along with the more specific public health facilities specializing in Tuberculosis. This program helped me confirm my desire to be a part of the healthcare system along with providing me with many other unforgettable experiences. Whenever I was not in class or volunteering I was taking advantage of all the wonderful sites at attractions Cape Town has to offer. I got to do so many amazing things including being on a beach with penguins, going to an ostrich farm, paragliding, going on wine tours, hiking, going on a safari and much more. I would recommend this program to anyone interested in any time of health related field and anyone who wants to live in the most beautiful place in the world for a summer.

This was a fantastic program for anyone interested in Public Health or Medicine. We were able to work in various hospital environments, observing much more than we as undergraduate students would be able to see in the United States. We also attended lectures that focused on health issues in South Africa, as well as the changing healthcare system. When we were not in class or at the hospital, IES organized many excursions and experiences that allowed us to make the most of our time in and around Cape Town. It was a great experience, and I would recommend it to everyone.

I did a 7 week long health studies program in Cape Town through IES. This included a a course about healthcare in South Africa as well as a service learning component in primary and tertiary hospitals in South Africa. The class component could have been better planned however I learned a lot from the service learning component. IES organized for us to observe at several healthcare clinics around Cape Town. We were able to experience a lot of things that we would not be able to observe in hospitals in the US. In addition IES did a good job planning activities for us the were included in the tuition fee such as a peninsula tour and wine tour.

I had an absolutely amazing experience with CFHI’s HIV/AIDS program in Durban, South Africa. As an incoming 3rd year medical student at the Ohio State University, this was one of my first hand’s on clinical experiences. Our coordinator, Maureen, housed all 6 of us with local Zulu families. They provided us with a place to stay and home cooked traditional Zulu meals. Many of them had children our age that we were able to spend time with. This greatly enhanced our understanding of the Zulu culture and language. Over the following 3.5 weeks I rotated through various departments at King Edward Hospital in Durban, a public secondary hospital. During the first week I was able to participate in Pediatric morning rounds, Intern lectures, and assist in my first Caesarean section. I spent the following week with a team of general surgeons. I was able to observe various endoscopic procedures, observe general clinic days and stay on overnight calls to observe and assist in surgeries. I was able to assist in a leg amputation and observe an appendectomy, gastrectomy, lymph node biopsy, inguinal hernia repair, exploratory laparotomy, as well as other smaller procedures. I learned procedural skills for the first time as well as continued to expand my medical knowledge. During the 3rd week I rotated through various departments including Psychiatry, Urology, and Casualty. Although many of the conditions were similar to those seen in the US (burns, asthma, GSWs, hydrocele, etc) many cases were complicated by concurrent HIV/AIDS and/or Tuberculosis. Virtually every patient is screened for both of these conditions- something that is rarely done in the US. It was incredible to see how these diseases can manifest in hundreds of different ways-ways that I may never observe in the US. In my final week I worked at the Blue Roof Clinic, a clinic providing free HIV/AIDS care to the community. I was able to shadow a HIV specialist and observed how she incorporated education and wellness into each of her patients care. Aside from the clinical experience there was ample time to explore South Africa. On my first weekend, I went on a Safari in St. Lucia and Hluhlwe Game Reserve. Maureen helped coordinate this experience with a local tour guide. On the second weekend, our group stayed in Durban to go horseback riding , experience the local nightlife and attend a township tour organized by CFHI. On my third weekend, I went to Cape Town-which was certainly a highlight of my time here. During the week days, we had most of our afternoons free. We were able to go to the beach on various occasions (Durban weather is warm almost every day of the year), Victoria Market, Durban Botanical Garden, Pavilion Mall, and Florida Road. Overall, the CFHI clinic schedule allowed for a balance of educational clinical experience and social and cultural exploration of South Africa. With no reservations, I would recommend this program to any student interested in pursing a health care related field that has an interest in exploring a new culture and health care system.