PAs Go Global
When Jennifer Nunes, MG19 (MPH/PA), first heard about a pilot clinical rotation for Tufts physician assistant students at South Africa’s University of Witwatersrand, she jumped at the chance. “South Africa was exciting to me because my interest is in infectious disease—especially HIV— and I knew I could learn more clinically by being there,” she said.
For eight weeks starting in August 2018, two Tufts students, Nunes and Elizabeth Huebner, MG19 (MPH/ PA), participated in clinical rotations at both the rural Kopanong Hospital in Vereeniging, and the more urban Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Johannesburg. In exchange, two third-year clinical associate students from the University of Witwatersrand (Wits, for short) worked with patients at Tufts Medical Center for four weeks.
Nunes now looks back on the experience abroad as “one of the most incredible things I’ve ever done in my life,” she said. “I fell in love with the challenges and with the people.”