London Eye with my study abroad crew
Author: Lydia Samoff | Major: Nursing | Semester: Spring 2025
The wind whistled through the underground tunnel that the train would shortly emerge from. My friends and I stood on the platform, excited to go explore the heart of London. Everything was exciting about the city, even the public transport! I had initially felt resistant to study abroad in a European country because I felt that too many people already traveled to the UK and it would be too similar to American culture. But I had not known how diverse of a city London was. Seeing all the cultures represented around me and hearing conversations in a multitude of languages, I realized that the world had come to London.
This trip was a faculty-led January intercession trip to Scotland and England. It was catered towards nursing and public health students which was helpful, because nursing students have less flexibility to study abroad. As someone graduating with my nursing degree in May, I was excited to take the opportunity! We were in the UK for almost 2 weeks, with half of the time in Edinburgh, and half in London. Our group had time to explore both cities as well as take day trips to Glasgow and to the Scottish Highlands. The bus tour through the Highlands was one of my favorite parts of the trip. The views of snowcapped mountains rising from picturesque lakes and valleys were stunning.
This trip focused on two topics, the history of medicine and public health, and a comparison of the current UK healthcare system to the US system. We engaged in a variety of activities like walking tours, museum visits, and guest lectures that all helped to paint the picture of what we were learning. One thing that continually impressed me was how much history had to take place to make healthcare what it is today. Early experiments in surgery, anesthesia, and antibiotics were all performed in the UK, and some with ghastly results. It makes me thankful that I will get to practice nursing in the 21st century. One place we visited in London was the Florence Nightengale Museum. It was inspiring to learn about her life and impact during the Crimean War and after. She is well known for her work in reframing nursing as an honorable profession, but she also was extremely influential in bringing data and statistics into informing healthcare standards.
The other focus of the trip was comparing the US healthcare system to the UK system. One of the biggest differences is that healthcare in the UK is funded by the government, so most people do not purchase private insurance like in the US. It was fascinating talking to National Healthcare Service workers, nurses, healthcare administrators, and even a music therapist about their work and experiences. Learning about another system helped to highlight the positives and negatives of US healthcare. This was helpful to me, because as a future nurse I want to be informed about my country’s system and able to advocate for change in its weak areas.
My advice after studying abroad several times is to stay curious and ready to learn. There will be so much new content to engage with, whether it is the material in your program, language learning, or simply cultural experiences. If you ask good questions and allow what you are learning to impact you, you will come away with so much more than cute pictures at famous tourist sites, although those are great too. My years studying at the U of A have been great, but I can say without a doubt that studying abroad has been one of my favorite parts. These trips were highly influential in growing my independence and even shaping my future dreams.