Global Health Service Learning Trips

 Course Overview:

This course is a three credit course that examines major global health challenges and introduces students to the vast diversity of health care system delivery rural and urban in Morocco.   This experience provides students with an opportunity to interact with culturally diverse individuals, families and groups while promoting the health and wellbeing of vulnerable populations.  The course focuses on the experiences in a community setting.  The course provides an integrated linguistic, cultural, historical, and public health experience in city of Agadir and in a village of Imsouane, Morocco.  Students are introduced to the healthcare in urban and rural settings, as well as the range of personal, social, religious, epidemiological, technological, and economic factors that influence healthcare in Morocco.

This hands-on learning experience provides an opportunity to gain, apply, and integrate knowledge and skill through participation in presentations in at the universities, hospitals as well as group discussions.   Students will be exposed to Islam, culture, art, history through activities, visits and presentations and its relation to health. There will also be opportunities to experience amazing food, sights seeing, hiking, beaches, surfing, shopping, and culture.

Rural Health Clinics - The students spend time observing health clinics that are held in the villages.  The healthcare professionals perform ultrasounds, screenings for blood pressure, blood sugar, Hepatitis C, HIV, breast cancer and physicians conduct medical consultations as well as distribute medicine at these clinic settings.  There is also a dental hygiene clinic where fluoride treatments are provided. Students will have opportunities to assist by showing the children how to brush their teeth and presenting them with new toothbrushes and toothpaste at the end of the clinic.  During this time students have the opportunities to live in the village and eat and socialize with the residents.

Urban Health Clinics – Students spend time observing, attending presentations and lectures in private clinics and public hospitals to learn more about health care delivery system in a developing Nation.

Course Objectives:

1.     Develop a collaborative relationship with peers and various others that students interact with during the service learning experiential activities.

2.     Develop an understanding and appreciation of the issues and needs of the population served through the service learning experience.

3.     Develop an awareness and understanding of one’s multiple roles and responsibilities as a global citizen.

4.     Explore foundational concepts of health relationships, including empathy, assertiveness, and personal responsibility.

5.     Develop increased self-awareness and understanding of personality and emotional intelligence.

6.     Develop awareness, knowledge, and skills for working with special and diverse populations.

·       Demonstrate use of non-verbal and verbal skills in a helping relationship.

·       Develop critical and analytical thinking abilities and oral and written expression.

Goals of Service Learning Course:

Volunteering in Morocco

1.        Gain experience internationally within a structured program that focuses on improving health care access, educational access, and improving farming techniques for rural Moroccans. 

2.        Learn more about health care delivery, in both urban and rural settings, in the context of developing nations.

3.        Cultivate leadership skills and global perspective that prepare students for future work and meet their diverse learning goals.

Goals of the Global Health Service Learning Trip:

The major goal of the service learning experience is to provide individuals with an opportunity to undertake an intensive and focused study, often in a field setting, as a means of broadening, deepening, mastering, and integrating knowledge and skill in the area of Global Health.  Developed as a clinical service learning trip to meet the diverse goals of the adult learner; students will learn about healthcare delivery in both rural and urban health clinics all under the supervision of Moroccan Healthcare Professionals. 

Primary goal of course is to assist the student in developing skills in critical thinking in relation to global health issues in Morocco. Critical thinking to determine the meaning and significance of what is being presented, expressed, or observed and then reflecting with an open mind, coming to an unbiased conclusion.

Demonstrate skills, as appropriate, from training, readings, presentations, observation, advising, consulting, coordination, administration, and program development.

1.     Develop new competencies through supervised field experience.

2.     Contribute to program goals and objectives

3.     Articulate new learning in discussions, journaling and reflection paper.

Learning Outcomes:

Will develop a comprehension through observation, readings, presentations, and discussions the barriers to healthcare and the importance of community support.

Will gain interpersonal communication skills that demonstrate respect for other perspectives and cultures through cross cultural activities. 

Through observations, readings, presentations, and discussions, students will have opportunities to collaborate in the urban and rural settings with Moroccan Healthcare professionals, peers, and community members.

Reading Assignments:

Articles are assigned and a packet will be provided ahead of time for students to review/read.   Specific reading assignments and the dates they are due are noted in the schedule contained within the reading packet.

Writing Assignments:

   Daily Journal:

Students will need to bring a notebook or journal and for this assignment you are asked to keep a course journal in which you will record various ideas, observations, questions, and reflections that are related to your experiences in this course.  The expectation is to write one entry per day to capture your daily service learning experience. 

     Learning Reflection Paper:

     Students will write a daily journal of their experiences and reflections that will be a resource for their learning reflection paper.  The paper will be approximately 4 pages, it provides opportunities to share successes, challenges, concerns, progress, and key insights achieved during this learning experience. As well as providing opportunities to connect readings assignments to the overall learning experience in the course. 

Due date for writing assignment: TBD

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