For RN, NP, PA, and Medical Students
An immersive, hands-on experience in rural Kenya — learn global health by doing it.

This 10-day global health clinical experience is a unique program specifically designed for nurse/nurse practitioner, physician assistant, and medical students who want real-world clinical exposure in resource-limited areas of the world. Working with our team of expert faculty and partnering with Village HopeCore International, participants assist in community clinics, mobile health programs, and school-based wellness visits — all while learning about sustainable public health models in East Africa.

Clinical & Educational Activities:

• Experience village-based medicine on the slopes of Mt. Kenya

• Assist with maternal and child health programs

• Participate in school-based mobile-clinics

• Learn core concepts tropical medicine and public health

• Engage in case discussions and daily clinical debriefs

Located in the Eastern Highlands of Kenya, this region offers a diverse landscape of steep, rural hillsides and arid lowlands, home to communities facing significant health disparities and economic challenges. Healthcare delivery in this area is led by a multidisciplinary team of Kenyan clinicians, including clinical officers, nurses, nurse practitioners, community health workers, and health educators. During this program, students will engage directly with these professionals through mobile health clinics, school wellness visits, and public health outreach programs — gaining practical experience in delivering care in resource-limited and rural global settings.

Participants will:

• Analyze the social determinants of health affecting rural communities in Kenya, including access to clean water, nutrition, sanitation, safety, education, and healthcare infrastructure.

• Identify core concepts in global health systems, including cost-effective, sustainable strategies for healthcare delivery in low-resource environments.

• Understand the epidemiology and clinical progression of regionally prevalent infectious and chronic diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, hypertension, and diabetes.

• Apply clinical reasoning skills to assess, diagnose, and manage common illnesses and injuries with limited access to labs, imaging, and pharmaceuticals.

• Promote culturally sensitive healthcare delivery by working alongside local clinicians and adapting patient care plans within the context of cultural norms and resource constraints.

• Experience hands-on global health fieldwork, preparing for future careers in travel medicine, rural health, and humanitarian response.

Areas of clinical rotation focus: child maternal health, school health, adult health, geriatrics, infectious disease.  

Some of the most frequently seen diagnoses include malnutrition, pneumonia, diarrhea and dehydration, tuberculosis, malaria, HIV/AIDS, trauma, seizures, meningitis, snake bites, burns, chronic wounds, anemia, Visceral leishmaniasis.

Student Requirements: 

Students will be supervised by other U.S. and Kenyan physicians/providers, and work alongside Kenyan clinical officers, nurses, and providers-in-training. 

Practice-Based Learning & Improvement: 

• Access and consistently refer to current clinical practice guidelines and understand applicable evidence-based strategies for patient care in this region of Kenya 
• Operate as a component of the local Kenya healthcare team 
• Students are expected to participate in educational conferences and journal clubs during the rotation. 
• Students must understand availability and cost of health services and potential challenges to obtaining healthcare services, such as social, economic, and psychological factors. 

Professionalism, Interpersonal & Communication Skills 

• Students will be expected to demonstrate the highest level of maturity, professionalism, and cultural humility, including: 
  • Understanding of local cultural approaches to health
  • Respecting patients/families decisions on care depending on gender, cultural, religious, economic and educational differences. 
• Understand the importance of being able to accept and modify behaviors based constructive feedback from the healthcare organization in Kenya 

Our program provides on-site orientation, training, and supervision by the medical director/Kenya health team. We are seeking students with an interest in caring for underserved populations, and those with enthusiasm for learning more about global health, infectious diseases, and healthcare delivery in resource-poor settings. 

Included in program: 

• Welcome Packet with helpful Global Health resources & reading lists
• Pre-departure support & mentorship with one of MedTreks team members prior to departing on the field experience 
• Airport pick-up/drop off and roundtrip transportation from Nairobi (Kenya’s capital city) to Chogoria (our program headquarters), which is about a 3.5 hr drive 
• Hotel lodging at a comfortable, safe hotel within Chogoria – walking distance to shops and our office clinic
• 3 meals per day 
• Training and supervision by a designated local mentor from MedTreks/HopeCore program 
• Letter of Recommendation & Internship Evaluation Report 

Please refer to our general MedTreks Kenya FAQ and Testimonials for more information.