“This trip was one of the highlights of my Quinnipiac experience,” said Erica Fajfer ’26, one of the eight students who traveled with Erica Mumm, clinical associate professor of nursing. 

“This weeklong experience allowed me to live out my dream of studying abroad,” said Fajfer. “It gave me a global perspective on nursing that I will carry with me into my professional career.” 

Students were immersed in new healthcare techniques and tactics. The trip gave meaning to the importance of community on healthcare, which contrasts United States’ healthcare norms.
 
“In the United States, we often see social isolation as a significant factor in contributing to many aspects of poor health outcomes,” said Mumm. “You do not see this in Trentino. Students participated in service learning, visiting a refugee center, a mental health center and a demonstration by the local EMS and fire services.”

Tara Cook ’26, who also participated in the trip, described her newfound knowledge about money and preventative care following her Italy experiences. 

“While in Italy, we met with multiple agencies such as telehealth coordinators, a mental health clinic, a refugee center and an EMS unit,” said Cook. “Here, patients can come and go without worrying about paying, which influenced their healthcare system the most. When we told people we were meeting with that our quality of healthcare depends entirely on money, they were stunned. They also practice preventative care. In the first town that we stayed, Castello Tesino, they utilized home nurses to visit them since it was a small village in a rural area with the closest hospital being about an hour away. The visiting nurses would prioritize preventing health issues before they could happen in specific populations instead of waiting for a disease or injury to occur and treating the patient when they get to the hospital.”

Cook elaborated Mumm’s point about community and healthcare while reflecting on a meaningful moment of the trip. 

“My favorite event was when we got to go to a local mental health clinic. Here, we got to meet with patient-care advocates, an event coordinator, a patient and a family member of a patient,” said Cook. “The energy and the effort put into the patients stood out to me here. Instead of just meeting with patients and discussing their care, they incorporated the family into the treatment process. They had groups of patients and families meet and talk about what the best way to move forward would be.”

Along with knowledge, students left Italy with bonds that they anticipate will last a lifetime.

“Since we were a small group of senior nursing majors on the trip, we shared the same passion, which brought us even closer,” Fajfer said. “We shared so many amazing stories and memories together that I will never forget.”

Mumm’s trip also tied in experiences outside of healthcare. 

“Students' bonded over cultural and historic activities such as hiking through a mountain forest while learning that the trenches from World War I were still present in the area. They also experienced local food, especially enjoying the local gelato and the apple strudel and canederli made by the students with Chef Luigi and Chef Sergio,” said Mumm. 

Cook thanked Quinnipiac for her experience. Studying healthcare in a new way is a unique opportunity, she said.

“I signed up to go on this trip because it is something I normally wouldn’t do. With graduation coming in less than two months, I needed to get used to being outside of my comfort zone. The idea of studying healthcare internationally was daunting, but that’s why I did it,” Cook said. “This opportunity to do my community health clinical in Italy is something unique to Quinnipiac’s School of Nursing and I am incredibly grateful that I got to take part in a once-in-a-lifetime trip.”

In Focus