Cape Town Summer Public Health Program

I studied abroad in Cape Town during the seven week summer Health Program. This program was amazing because along with taking classes about the public health care system in South Africa, I got to experience it first hand. The 6 credit hour course is supplemented by two separate service learning opportunities. The program enables you to volunteer in both a tertiary health care clinic in Cape Town along with a primary hospital in Nelspruit. During these service learning programs you can see the many different aspects of healthcare in South Africa from watching surgeries, shadowing doctors, working in pharmacies, to even helping local communities understand how to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDs and TB. IES abroad also scheduled lots of interesting field trips to places like a TB clinic and the hospital where the first heart transplant was performed. Along with academic related field trips IES planned so many exciting and wonderful excursions including a safari, a three day tour to some of the most beautiful places all over South Africa (which includes the ability to ride an elephant and stand on a beach with penguins), Robben Island, a brief homestay with a family, a wine tour and much more. Cape Town has so much to offer including hiking, surfing, paragliding, visiting local markets, rugby games and so many other wonderful things, that it really did make it the most memorable and amazing experience. I would definitely recommend this program to anyone thinking about any type of health care field and wants to stay in one of the most beautiful places on earth.