Therapy the Irish way is on the Spring Break Study Abroad itinerary for School of Applied Health Sciences students

When students in the School of Applied Health Sciences travel to Ireland this Spring Break, they won’t just be communing with nature at the Cliffs of Moher or hiking the Wicklow Mountains, they’ll be hitting the road (on the left side) to learn the Irish way of rehabilitation from top speech and language therapists.

The group departs on a nine-day trip March 16 as part of an energizing Study Abroad program, arriving on St. Patrick’s Day. They will meet with members of the Irish Association of Speech & Language Therapists March 21, as well as with rehabilitation faculty members at Trinity College in Dublin March 20 and Limerick University March 23 and 24.

Dr. Judith Wingate, Associate Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders in the Brooks Rehabilitation College of Healthcare Sciences, will lead the program along with Dr. Robin Edge, Assistant Professor of Speech-Language Pathology, and Dr. Michael Justiss, Associate Professor and Director of Occupational Therapy.

“Our Study Abroad course in Ireland is designed to introduce students to rehabilitation services and to examine the similarities and differences in service delivery for physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech-language pathology between Ireland and the United States,” Dr. Wingate said. “Specifically, the students are exploring the training for rehabilitation professionals, access to healthcare, and practice patterns in Ireland.”

The idea is for students to join with faculty for a firsthand look into rehabilitation services offered outside of the U.S., while earning college course credit and satisfying the University’s experiential learning requirement for graduation.

Students will meet with local faculty and professionals from some of Ireland’s top academic institutions. Over the course of about 20 hours of course instruction in Ireland, they’ll look at similarities and differences in service delivery for physical, occupational and speech therapy, as well as learn about the reimbursement, professional training and licensure qualifications of another country.

Naturally, a journey to the Emerald Isle wouldn’t be complete without stops at acclaimed locations such as the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, the Wicklow Mountains and the Cliffs of Moher.

Students making the trip are:

Graduate Students (Speech Pathology) — Brittany Chancey, Brittany Helton, Sadie Hoaglin, Sandra Morris,Zoe Welch and Ashley Young.

Undergraduates (Communication Sciences and Disorders) — Renata Bilello, Bailey Flynn and Carson Stephens; (Dance) — Alexis Bustinza; (Kinesiology) — Christopher Azar, Andry Garcia, Ashton Johnston, Logan Luke and Savannah Vereen; and (Nursing) — Janel Montgomery, Julia Kimbrough, Taylor Mulligan, Anna Palmer and Kelsey Watts.

Study Abroad is part of International Education Programs (IEP) at Jacksonville University, which strives to promote global learning by exposing students and faculty to other countries, cultures and languages. Students and faculty are engaged in global and U.S. relations issues with the rest of the world, with a variety of education abroad and away opportunities offered spanning the world. Many trips include intensive language as well as content courses. Additionally, “engaged” learning is also encouraged by promoting living, service and internship opportunities abroad.

For more about this Study Abroad trip, visit http://ju.iepabroad.org/portfolio/ju-ireland-spring-break-speech-language-pathology/.