Global Experience: Global Healthcare Explorations

Kenya, Africa

Learning Beyond the Classroom

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GLB355: Global Healthcare Explorations

You'll experience a unique opportunity to explore global healthcare to increase knowledge of cultural concepts as they relate to nursing care and create an increased awareness of culturally competent nursing behaviors through hands-on learning in Kenya, East Africa. Students will engage with foundational Kikuyu language skills as part of their studies.

Students will travel to Kenya, East Africa, and stay at the Brackenhurst Conference Center in Limuru. The conference center includes breakfast and dinner with Western and East African dishes.  This course emphasizes interprofessional collaboration between national healthcare workers, mission team members, and students from various colleges and universities. Students will engage in collaborative healthcare delivery and community engagement activities in a cross-cultural setting. A foundational component includes acquiring basic communication skills in the local vernacular, Kikuyu, to enhance cultural competence and effective interaction with the local population. Students will embark on a safari at the Maasai Mara game reserve.

Costs include tuition, flight, and accommodations at Brackenhurst.

May 21 - June 4, 2026
Details
  • Travel to Nairobi Kenya and spend your days at the Benjamin Wellness Center
  • Engage with local healthcare providers to learn the culture and vernacular language
  • Immerse yourself in the local community
  • Witness nature's theater unfold in real time on a Safari
  • Stay at the Brackenhurst Conference Center
  • Meals included
  • Transportation to and from the airport will be provided
  • Excursion transportation will be provided by bus
  • Prerequisites include NUR330, NUR 340, NUR461, NUR494, NUR431, NUR666
  • Must meet PCT policies and procedures
  • 3-credit course
  • Nursing students given priority

Successful completion of the course will satisfy the following electives:  open elective, and cultural diversity perspective elective.

Billable Expenses
  • Program Cost: $4700 (airfare and insurance included)
  • Shuttle to/from airport: $200 (approximate)
  • Tuition/Fees (in-state): $623/credit x 3 = $1,869

Total: $6,769 (approximate)

Non-Billable Expenses
  • Incidentals: $200 (approximate)
  • International phone plan: $100 (approximate)

Total: $300 (approximate)

Grand Total: $7,069 (approximate)

Billing

All billable expenses appear on a student’s semester bill as: Tuition/Fees (credit hours) and International Travel Fee (program and travel costs). Some costs and expenses are estimates. Payment overages will be refunded to students after all trip costs are reconciled on June 30.

Financial Aid

Most financial aid you would receive on campus can be applied toward the cost of this program. All financial aid eligibility is determined by Financial Aid. 

Scholarships

PCT offers many study abroad scholarships with various eligibility criteria. The Spring-Summer 2026 application deadline is October 17, 2026. Apply by submitting your interest to Mindy Gunn meg45@pct.edu.

Eligibility

Good standing - A status indicating that a student is not under any disciplinary sanctions, has no unsatisfied financial obligation to the College, and is not on academic probation or suspension. 

Committing to your Program

All students register for their program during the normal advising period in the semester prior to the program start. Registration in the course constitutes commitment to the payment terms. Semester bills will include the associated billable expenses of tuition/fees and the International Travel Fee. 

Withdrawal Policy

Students will be subject to the Termination, Drops, and Withdrawals Policy (P4.31) and the Refunds Policy (P5.23) for the tuition/fees and International Travel Fees associated with the course. Travel-related costs may be refunded to the student to the extent those costs have not already been contractually committed by the College to outside parties. Note that contractually committed costs increase closer to the travel date. In cases where program costs are divided evenly among all participants, the student’s portion of costs will be considered contractually committed and non-recoverable. If at any point prior to travel, a student is no longer in good standing, they may be removed from the course and prohibited from traveling. Those students may receive refunds minus all non-recoverable costs.

Travel Highlights

Students will travel to Kenya, where they will volunteer at a rural clinic, offering support and assistance to local healthcare providers.

Experienced Faculty

Meet Your Faculty Guide

In 1993, Donna earned a Certificate in Tropical Medicine and Community Health from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in Liverpool, England. This training laid the foundation for a decade of service as a medical missionary in Kenya under the auspices of Africa Inland Mission. During this period, Donna worked in two rural mission hospitals, taking on a wide range of clinical and leadership responsibilities, including functioning in a nurse practitioner capacity, serving as a charge nurse, and administering both spinal and inhalational general anesthesia. Donna played a central role in capacity-building efforts through developing and teaching a critical care training course for staff in a newly established intensive care unit and implementing a comprehensive hospital-wide continuing education program at one of the facilities.

 

Donna Lovestrand

Associate Professor, Nursing Programs

Learn More About Donna Lovestrand

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