Health Profession Students Explore Care Systems Worldwide

On three separate trips to three different countries, SHU students gained life-changing career experience in global health care

Key Highlights

• ^{SHU health profession students traveled to Ireland, Spain and Guatemala, gaining firsthand experience with global health care systems}
• ^{In Ireland, physical and occupational therapy students delivered exercise programs, musculoskeletal screenings and patient education to local communities}
• ^{In Spain, physician assistant students completed five-week clinical rotations in Seville across emergency, intensive care and pediatric units}
• ^{In Guatemala, occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language pathology students delivered comprehensive care to 21 clients across the country}
• ^{Across all three trips, students gained increased cultural competence, broader perspectives on global health and a deeper understanding of compassionate, patient-centered care}

Ireland, Guatemala and Spain: These three countries offered students and professors from Sacred Heart University’s College of Health Professions a look at health care systems outside of the United States during recent trips abroad.

At SHU’s Dingle campus in Ireland, Jay Grimes, associate professor and director of the orthopaedic physical therapy residency program, led students from the physical and occupational therapy programs in providing nearby town residents with exercise and activity regimens, musculoskeletal screenings and education on comprehensive care for individuals of all ages.

Grimes said being outside the classroom gave him a chance to see the students’ skills and professionalism in action. “Every day, our students demonstrated strengths and qualities that went well beyond what I had been able to witness from the classroom setting alone,” Grimes said.

The experience in Dingle is one that physical therapy doctoral student Sydney Macpherson ’27 will not soon forget. She enjoyed working with different populations, from the active elders to the youth Gaelic football players to mothers and babies. “I was able to apply the hands-on skills I’ve learned in class on real patients, and this trip reinforced the importance of empathy with patients that I will carry with me throughout my career,” Macpherson said.

Students from SHU’s physician assistant studies program got a chance to see what primary care looks like in Spain. In the city of Seville, students spent five weeks gaining hands-on clinical experience as they rotated through a hospital’s emergency department, intensive care and pediatrics units.

Priyangi Jayasuriya, clinical coordinator and global health representative for the physician assistant program, highlighted the importance of experiences like this in the students’ lives, including the value of learning cross-cultural communication in a health care setting.

“Completing a rotation abroad broadens students’ perspectives on global health and patient care,” she said. “It encourages critical thinking about diverse health care systems, enhances cultural competence and prepares students to apply these insights to serve our local community more effectively upon returning to the U.S.”

Students said they learned a great deal working within a different country’s hospital system. “During my primary care rotation in Seville, the genuine care and compassion the providers showed their patients was what stood out to me the most,” said Vanessa Numme ’25.  “Watching how they approached each visit and how much time they spent listening really shaped the way I think about primary care and helped me grow in the way I hope to provide care in the future.”

In Guatemala, students and faculty members from SHU’s occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language pathology programs had their own global immersion experience. Students provided comprehensive care to 21 clients across the country, raised more than $5,000 for wheelchairs and other crucial medical supplies and created educational pamphlets.

“Students on this trip learned a lot about interprofessional collaboration as they engaged in interprofessional teams to co-evaluate and co-treat clients in all areas, which will give them an advantage in their future clinical practice,” said Sheelagh Schlegel, associate clinical professor in SHU’s occupational therapy graduate program.

Occupational therapy graduate student Alexa Scaglione ’26 said the time in Guatemala left a lasting impression on how faith and health care intersect. “What stood out the most was how deeply united the community was in their faith, which gave them the strength to persevere despite their tough circumstances,” she said. “I will always be inspired by their unwavering love for the Lord and how they regarded our service as their greatest blessing.”