20: ENHANCING THE DOCTOR OF NURSING PRACTICE DEGREE ■ 457■ THE DUQUESNE DNP- IN- ROME STUDY- ABROAD
OPPORTUNITY: A FACULTY PERSPECTIVE
Students enrolled in the Duquesne University DNP program have the opportunity to
participate in a 10- day study- abroad experience as part of a required course they take
during the summer, “Transcultural and Global Health Perspectives.” The School of
Nursing has a rich history of being involved in international initiatives with primarily
undergraduate students. When the DNP program was developed in 2008, the faculty
felt strongly that including a cultural immersion experience outside of the United States
for graduate students would assist students in thinking about health and illness from
a perspective different from that of the U.S. health care system. The study- abroad com-
ponent has not been a requirement of the course, but was strongly encouraged; in 2016,
it will become mandatory. However, since the inception, an overwhelming majority of
students chose to study abroad. With the inclusion of this course and study- abroad ex-
perience, DNP students learn to become advanced practitioners who can design sys-
tems of care that are culturally competent and congruent for diverse clients, families
and communities within the context of their professional settings.
The DNP study- abroad experience has been available to students since the summer
2009, and the Rome experience has been taking place since 2011. Because the university
has an Italian campus in Rome that is used by undergraduate students during the fall and
spring terms, going to Rome with the DNP students in the summer seemed to be a natural
fit. Two faculty members accompany the students to Rome and work closely with the assis-
tant director of the Italian campus to plan the 10- day experience. All graduate courses at
the school of nursing are online, and the course is structured as a 12- week summer course;
this allows the students to complete some course requirements before and after the study-
abroad period. Thus, the city of Rome becomes the classroom during the 10 days abroad.
Planned activities are designed to immerse students in the Roman culture and engage
them in fieldwork, which facilitates observation of the cultural influences on health and
the health care system. For example, students use a metro pass to travel throughout the
city via public transportation including the bus system and underground metro system.
The campus itself is located just outside the main confines of the city, requiring students to
take a bus and then the metro to get to the city- center area of Rome. This is an intentional
element of the experience because students then travel throughout the city as Romans do.
Students must also consider and plan for common occurrences on public transportation,
such as pickpocketing, that Roman citizens encounter every day.
Students have the opportunity to engage in a variety of experiences that highlight
the influences of historical and contemporary culture as well as religion and faith on
individuals and the health care system. Through 2 to 3 hours dinners and the camara-
derie students witness and experience, students learn the value and importance placed
on food and the experience of coming together for a meal. Three to four group meals are
planned with the students and faculty at well- established restaurants in Rome. Other
activities include a special Ancient Rome walking tour with a professor of ancient his-
tory through the Colosseum and Roman Forum, including St. Cosmus and Damian
Church, the most important church for the history of medicine in Ancient Rome, the
Pantheon, and Piazza Navona. The excursion emphasizes the rich and extensive his-
tory of Rome and the influence on its citizens. Students participate in an expedition
of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel with a Vatican art historian who is also a
professor of art history. Students listen to and have the opportunity to ask questions of
these knowledgeable and experienced professors during the experiences. As a group,
we attend the Papal Audience at St. Peter’s Square, held on Wednesday mornings dur-
ing the summer, where students hear short readings and prayers, and receive a blessing