Tanzania
June 1 – 16, 2023 (+/- a few days, exact dates TBD)
Application Deadline: Friday, March 3, 2023, 11:59 p.m.
The Office of Global Health is offering a global field experience to Tanzania; any UMSON student is eligible to apply to participate. Funding to cover trip costs is available, so those interested are strongly encouraged to apply!
Accepted students will enroll in a 2-credit elective, either N418 (undergraduate-level international field experience) or N611 (graduate-level international field experience). This will also count as the field experience requirement for students enrolled in the Global Health Certificate.
If you have questions, please contact the Office of Global Health:
globalnursing@umaryland.edu
UMSON, Room 480
Safari Njema!
Considerations
- Open to any students enrolled at the University of Maryland School of Nursing (BSN, CNL, MS/MSN, DNP, PhD, Certificate)
- Six students will be selected to participate in the trip, and funding to cover the cost of the trip is available. We strongly encourage you to apply if you are interested!
- International students are also encouraged to apply. We will support students through the visa process as best we can, and visa costs will be covered by the Office of Global Health.
- Students without passports are also encouraged to apply if you are able to obtain a passport by April 30, 2023. The turnaround time for an expedited application is about six weeks, and students are responsible for all costs associated with passports.
- Participants are required to attend three pre-trip sessions in March, April, and May (dates TBD).
- Participants are required to attend two post-trip debrief/integration sessions in June and July (dates TBD).
- Students are strongly encouraged to bring a minimum of $750 as spending money for meals, incidentals, and souvenirs ($400 is the estimated cost of meals for the entire trip). The Office of Global Health is determining if meals can be covered through our office budget. At this time, please plan to cover your meals, but if it is determined that meals can be covered or reimbursed, we will make an announcement. If this cost is prohibiting you from applying, we still encourage you to apply, and we will try our best to figure out solutions.
Priority is given to students enrolled in the Global Health Certificate, as a global field experience is a requirement for their coursework.
Post-baccalaureate students interested in enrolling in the Global Health Certificate should contact the Office of Global Health for more information.
What to Expect (briefly)
Tanzania is a beautiful country in East Africa. It is home to over 100 tribes, speaking over 100 languages, with Kiswahili being the unifying language. It is home to people with vibrant cultures and strong traditions. It is also home to some of the most magnificent national parks and animals in the world.
For this global field experience, we will be exploring various organizations throughout northern Tanzania to give you an overview of different cultures, various types of health care facilities, and several community-based projects. We will visit both public and nongovernmental hospitals, schools, a children’s village, and a national park, and we will speak with leaders and healers from different communities.
The focus of this trip is to gain insight into the rich diversity of cultures in Tanzania and to explore various aspects of the health care system and health projects to expand our understanding of how health services are delivered. There will be an emphasis on cultural humility, equity and justice, inner bias work, understanding the burdens of diseases, and comparing health care systems. The trip will consist of site visits, lectures and discussions, workshops, and, of course, fun! We will visit local markets, explore important sites, and spend time with local communities.
Safety is the top priority, and while Tanzania is very safe, we will still take all the necessary precautions to ensure a safe experience. Because we will be visiting rural locations, accommodations will be modest. You will stay in a shared room with one other person, and while we will do our best to ensure adequate access to Wi-Fi and electricity, please be prepared for intermittent outages. You can expect dirt roads, driving on bumpy roads in a Landcruiser, temperatures in the 60s-70s, and little rain as it will be the dry season – this also means lots of dust!
We will be eating local food, which consists of rice and beans, ugali (corn meal, starchy dish), vegetables, meat, fresh fruits, pilau (spiced rice), and more specialized dishes.
If you require accommodations related to mobility, diet, or others, please contact the Office of Global Health to discuss options. As part of our commitment to equity, we are happy to try and find solutions to accommodate your needs.
Transparency About the Application Process
Once all applications are submitted (by March 3, 2023), a review committee composed of faculty and staff in the Office of Global Health and possibly other faculty members will review applications independently using a standardized rubric. Applications will be reviewed and scored by multiple reviewers to ensure fairness and then discussed as a group. Priority will be given to students enrolled in the Global Health Certificate.
If clarification is needed on your application, you will be contacted by the Office of Global Health.
Once six students are selected, acceptance letters will be distributed to the applicants. Selected applicants will have one week to confirm if they will be attending the trip or not. If an accepted applicant is unable to attend, the next qualified applicant will be sent an acceptance letter.