University of Delaware Institute for Global Studies
Winter 2025: British Virgin Islands NURS

Program Dates January 02, 2025 - January 30, 2025
This program is closed.

Program Overview This program is highly competitive and will accept only a limited number of applicants. Interview appointments and acceptance decisions are at the discretion of the faculty director.

All applicants must have a valid passport by the program’s application deadline. Your passport’s expiration date must be more than six months after the program ends. If you do not have a current passport, apply through the U.S. State Department. It takes an average of 6-8 weeks (2 months) to process a passport.

Traveling and studying abroad at this time poses new challenges and requires accepting a higher level of uncertainty than in the past. Students who choose to study abroad must be prepared to adapt to evolving situations and must take responsibility to act in accordance with the rules, regulations, and recommendations of UD, their program leadership, and legal authorities of their home and host country which are subject to change at any time.

The University will continue to monitor the ongoing situation with COVID-19 (coronavirus) and world events as we approach the departure date for this program. Please reach out to your program coordinator or faculty director with questions and continue to monitor the UD coronavirus webpage for updates. If UD decides to cancel a study abroad program, we will communicate directly with affected students.

This healthcare focused study abroad program provides a cultural perspective with diverse and at risk populations in both the community as well as acute care hospital environments. Nursing and other healthcare majors (14 total) will travel to the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in the Caribbean. Students will experience first hand the challenges and success of healthcare in both the hospital as well as the clinic/urgent care areas while partnered in a preceptor type 1-1 experience with a nurse and/or other healthcare provider in a number of specialties. This experience has been created for nursing students and future healthcare providers, preparing them with patient care experiences in acute care as well as clinic facilities. Primary areas of focus include the importance of patient safety, evidence based practice, as well as discussions regarding similarities vs contrasts within culture and healthcare in the BVI.

In Nursing 411, students will have extensive acute care and clinic experiences at the Dr. D. Orlando Smith/Peebles Hospital http://www.bvihsa.vg/ in Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. This hospital experience allows students to work 1-1 with a nurse preceptor (with faculty oversight) completing client assessments while completing guided worksheets, journal entries, and group discussions. Content assists students in integrating scientific and theoretical knowledge into clinical practice. This course places a significant focus on patient safety and an application of a “safe culture” into the care of general populations in remote locations and those that are vulnerable and/or at risk. Additional areas of focus include the legal, ethical, and health care leadership influences that are important to client care.

In Nursing 412, students will explore health care services for men, women and children in the British Virgin Islands comparing these to the United States. Seminars will include the following topics: multicultural issues surrounding access to health care, alternative medicine/bush/herbal medicines, health care screening and preventative services. Through course work and a service-learning component, students will learn about the people of the prospective country within the context of their history, culture, government, natural resources, economic growth, and health care system.

Specific experiences that allow for history, culture and natural resources to be explored are facilitated through excursions. Two excursions https://aristocatcharters.com/ sailing through the Sir Francis Drake Channel puts the student in the middle of an area rich in history. Students experience first-hand the British Virgin Islands as seen years ago by some of the first inhabitants; Taino Indians, Carib Indians, Pirates and Enslaved Africans experiencing the challenges of life and survival on the sugar cane plantations.

The program fee includes excursions and "island hopping" to different inhabited as well as uninhabited islands for both cultural and healthcare experiences: Tortola, Norman Island, Jost Van Dyke, The Indians, and Virgin Gorda. Cultural immersion is encouraged and emphasized through excursions, experiences with the people as well as through lecture/discussion/journal formats reviewing the culture, history, current lifestyle, environment, food and music of the Caribbean.

Home base for the four weeks in cottages in Cane Garden Bay, Tortola, BVI. These newly renovated cottages are located on the hill above the bay with expansive views of Cane Garden Bay and Jost Van Dyke. The sunsets are spectacular! Cane Garden Bay offers numerous restaurants, laundry facilities with small grocery store. There are multiple beds in each of the cottages and house between 2-4 students (based on units). Each of the bedrooms has air-conditioning with full kitchens (refrigerator, oven/stove, microwave and grill). Bathroom as well as beach towels are provided.

Students who are interested in nursing, healthcare and also interested in getting experience in an acute care hospital and clinic environments should consider this program. The additional bonus includes; experiencing a different more relaxed culture, while exploring, and hiking some of the highest rated tropical environments.

The Program Fee includes all housing, excursions and related transportation, some meals, and international medical insurance.

The Program Fee does NOT include airfare to or from the Virgin Islands, nor airport transfers within the continental U.S. Students are responsible for their meals not specifically provided in the itinerary. The program officially begins when students arrive in the Virgin Islands. Students will receive detailed travel instructions after acceptance, explaining how and where to purchase their plane ticket. See the Cost section below for estimated airfare.

ACCESSIBILITY: Students with disabilities are welcomed and encouraged to study abroad, but should be aware that accessibility and accommodation in some program locations may differ from the United States. Transit systems and legacy building construction practices may not meet U.S. accessibility standards, and alternative access to public transportation, buildings, or public sites cannot be guaranteed. This program involves moderate physical activity with outdoor hiking and kayaking excursions. Review these questions with the Office of Disability Support Services to determine whether this program can meet your accommodation needs.

Courses: Students must enroll in all credit-bearing courses for a grade. Only the UNIV (zero credit) course may be taken pass/fail. Audit registration is not permitted on UD Travel Study. Please refer to the University Catalog to verify requirements and prerequisites. All students must enroll in at least 6 credits, as well as the 0-credit UNIV course.

Program Costs:

How much does it cost?.

	Delaware Resident	Non-Delaware Resident
Final Tuition based on current year	$3,648.00	$9,798.00
Final Program Fee	$4,775.00	$4,775.00
UD Registration & Activities Fee	$30.00	$30.00
Total to be charged to UD account	$8,453.00	$14,603.00
Plus Airfare Estimate (purchased separately)	$1,000.00	$1,000.00

The rates above may not apply to you if you are a UD graduate student during the time you are studying abroad. Please refer to http://www1.udel.edu/finaid/rates.html for the appropriate rates.


When and how do I pay?
If you are offered acceptance to the program, you will have 3 days to withdraw without financial penalty. After the 3 days have passed, you will be officially accepted to the program, and IGS will post the full Program Fee and Tuition/Fees to your UD student account.

• An initial payment of $1000.00 will be due in mid-May.
• The balance of the Program Fee and Tuition/Fees will be due in early January.
• Payments are submitted through My Finances in UDSIS.
• All charges, once posted to your account, are considered non-refundable.

*All students will receive an email when they are accepted to a program and will have 10 days from that notification to make their $1,000.00 Initial Payment.


Contact Information:


Deadlines:
Submit Program Application by 5pm on April 20, 2024
Recommendation also due by 5pm on April 20, 2024
Acceptance and Scholarship Announced: May 03, 2024

Please note that this program is highly competitive and will accept only a limited number of applicants. Interview appointments and acceptance decisions are at the discretion of the faculty director.



Interest Meetings:
02/29/2024, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM, https://udel.zoom.us/j/95275357704
03/06/2024, 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM, https://udel.zoom.us/j/95275357704
03/11/2024, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM, https://udel.zoom.us/j/95275357704
03/14/2024, 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM, https://udel.zoom.us/j/95275357704
03/15/2024, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM, https://udel.zoom.us/j/95275357704


Program information is subject to change at any time. Please check this web site periodically for updates.