Engaging Across the Globe
Study Abroad
From study abroad learning experiences to immersive work in the field, our students and faculty have many opportunities to travel across the globe to gain knowledge about other cultures and share their expertise in nursing.
Clinical Assistant Professor Dana Friend is passionate about enhancing the understanding of global healthcare settings for faculty and students.
Under her direction, WVU Nursing students have opportunities to learn abroad in the Netherlands, Brazil, London, Honduras/Panama, Cyprus, Vietnam and more.
Medical Missions
In 2015, during a search for opportunities to participate in international healthcare missions, Dr. Emily Barnes discovered Carolina Honduras Health Foundation (CHHF), and she has been working with the organization ever since.
The nonprofit organization helps fill the healthcare gap and ensure continuity of care in Honduras by providing healthcare for patients, assisting with community development initiatives and educational programming and supplying nutritious food and vitamins.
The following year, she began serving as a team leader and was able to provide more experiences for students.
To Angela Jeffries, a WVU School of Nursing lecturer and certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA), Africa was a bucket list destination. When she was offered the opportunity to travel to Africa on a mission trip, which was something she had always wanted to do as well, she couldn’t say no.
A group of Jeffries’ fellow nurses and nurse practitioners, along with a few pharmacists, formed a group called Appalachian Angels 304. They participated in several mission trips to Haiti, Africa, and India within the last few years. Jeffries, having known and worked alongside many of them for several years, had no doubt they were using their skills and talent in some of the places in the world that need it most. Jeffries decided she wanted to be a part of a group of people making a difference in the lives of people in such remote areas.
Collaboration with Hamamatsu Municipal Nursing College
Dr. Christy Barnhart demonstrates the technology inside the WV STEPS Center.
Connecting students from different parts of the world, the West Virginia University School of Nursing’s collaboration with Hamamatsu Municipal Nursing College in Japan is providing opportunities for students from both schools to share their experiences.
The collaboration started in 2019 when Sugino Toshiko, an English-speaking faculty member from the Hamamatsu school, initiated a global exchange and was interested in connecting with programs in the United States to enhance cultural understanding and increase enrollment.