Program Reviews

This trip was an unforgettable experience!! As a physical therapy students we had the opportunity evaluate and treat patients almost every day of the trip. We were able to work with many diverse patient populations and age ranges (age 2 -99 years old). We also were able to visit Mayan ruins, have a pool day, and explore the city of San Ignacio! The therapy abroad program ensured to teach us about the rich culture in Belize and even invited a local physician to teach us about the health care system in Belize! I would not hesitate to recommend this program!

We had an amazing trip with Therapy Abroad's Belize Physical Therapy student service trip. They were very supportive and the students had an amazing experience treating geriatrics, pediatrics, and people of all ages. Hode's Place was an excellent place to stay, eat, and socialize. The town of St. Ignacio had plenty to do during our down time. We were there a week and had 2 days of travel, one day of sightseeing (Mayan ruins, pool, shopping at the market) 3 and a half days of patient care with mornings at Octavia Waight nursing home and afternoons running a patient clinic out of Hode's Place conference rooms and offices. The program did a great job of cultural education and education re: Belize's healthcare system and how it was different than than ours.

I felt so supported and trusted throughout this trip. Our group provided therapy with just the right amount of supervision; we were independent much of the time but help was close by if we needed it. I appreciated the opportunity to be creative, exercise our clinical judgment, and try our own ideas in a safe environment. For example, we planned the activities for Tykes Camp stations and went to buy the supplies as a group. Then we executed those activities with the children while taking our own notes, and wrote reports on our assigned clients afterward. I feel that being a part of this entire process built confidence and independence.

This is my second time traveling to Belize with Therapy Abroad. However, this time we went to the more desolate southern region of Punta Gorda. This beautiful place offered a lot of opportunities, but challenged us to be extremely flexible. There are barely any speech therapy resources for individuals there. I feel more confident in my clinical abilities and this trip, like the first one, strengthened my abilities to be flexible and roll with the punches; this is a huge trait I believe future SLPs should have. We went into the surrounding villages, schools, and did some treatment at Hillside Clinic. We did not always have a plan, but that was part of the journey! This experience made me grateful for what I have and be able to enjoy little moments more. Life is so precious and I loved getting to know other humans that grew up differently from myself while providing my knowledge on speech and language therapy.

This was such an amazing trip! I loved being able to do therapy with individuals from Punta Gorda. Everyone was so kind and welcoming there and I felt like I learned a lot! There was a good balance between doing therapy and having free time. I throughly enjoyed learning about a new culture and understanding how different therapy is in PG in comparison to the U.S. Also, the supervisors were amazing and very knowledgeable.
I loved all of the cultural immersion experiences we had during the trip. It would have been nice to have a bit more time at Bocawina National Park to swim in the waterfalls or spend a bit more time at Coconut row!

Such a fun trip to Belize! I loved being immersed into the culture and trying new food! It was a good balance of providing therapy/working, while also exploring and having free time. The supervisors were so nice and helpful and knowledgeable about Punta Gorda. Housing was very nice and I loved rooming with the whole group because it brought us so much closer. There wasn’t a single activity that I didn’t enjoy. If anything, I wish we would have spent more time at Bocawina National Park, but otherwise the trip was amazing!

This was an incredible experience and I am so thankful for therapy abroad for coordinating and supporting us along the way. I can not say enough good things about the staff, resources and support! Every excursion was amazing and the food was delightful. Everyone was welcoming, kind and eager to take us in. I felt like I was at home and I will definitely be coming back in the future. Therapy abroad made me catch the travel bug in the best way possible. I recommend this group to anyone and everyone!

This was such an amazing experience and allowed me to grow so much in just one week! I learned so much about how to approach medical needs based on different cultures. I was also able to experience the island. There was a good balance of work and exploring which was so nice! Some things were organized for us to do outside of clinic and plenty of time to venture on our own as well! Transportation was provided so we did not have to worry about organized that! We also had housing taken care of so we just had to show up!

What an amazing opportunity it was to be able to provide audiological services to the local students and spend time on the beautiful island! The students were so welcoming and kind to us from the moment we walk onto the school campuses. They had never had their hearing screened before so they were excited to play our “listening games.” It was really cool that we could work and do clinic during the school hours and then go to the beach for some fun in the sun! My favorite part on our fun day was getting to snorkel for the first time!

Our week in Turks & Caicos was magical! From snorkeling in the middle of the Atlantic to going into the schools and getting to spend time with the kids and teachers of those communities. This experience will affect how I move forward as a clinician. I learned so much from collaborating with my classmates, the audiologist students, the local SLP, the students and the teachers. Not to mention all the wonderful food, swimming, and fun we had. Thank you, study abroad, for providing such a unique and valuable experience.