Lillie Heise, Plus 3 United Kingdom Summer 2024
Studying abroad has given me so much exposure and new knowledge that I plan to put towards my academic, career, and personal goals. It has influenced and changed some goals, but also has helped me reach goals I have had. My academic goals have been to have confidence in my skills and to push myself out of my comfort zone. During my experience abroad in the United Kingdom, I was able to begin to achieve both these goals. Something I always struggled with was asking questions or speaking in front of professionals. During this experience we talked to many different professionals in nursing and education, and I gained a lot of confidence by asking questions and engaging in the conversation. I also felt very knowledgeable myself, when they would ask me questions about nursing and USA healthcare systems, and this helped boost my confidence. We also had to do a presentation at the end of the trip in front of Birmingham City University staff and students. This is something I never thought I would be able to do, but I overcame my fears and presented with confidence. This trip has helped me realize that I learn better from asking questions and engaging in the conversation.
My career goal has been to help people not only become physically, but also mentally healthy. This trip has greatly influenced these goals. We learned a great amount about the USA and the UK healthcare system, and this has inspired me to want to be more involved in changing and helping the system. This has influenced my career goal into helping people no matter their ability to afford care because health is a human right. In my future career I want to be a part of organizations that provide healthcare to underprivileged communities. We learned so much about what the United Kingdom does to aid lower income areas and I want to implement more of these programs here in the USA.
Finally, my personal goal may be corny, but I just really want to make a difference in the world. Studying abroad really showed me how every country has its issues and conflicts, and they all need more people willing to make a difference and real change. As a future nurse I want to be able to travel all over the world and learn from all the different types of healthcare systems, to hopefully help find solutions to the many issues in the USA’s and other countries’ care. It is important we learn from each other, and we all work together to help the people in the world become truly happy and healthy.
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