Global health stay in Nepal
Study Board for Medicine
Teaching language: English
EKA: S150125102
Censorship: Second examiner: None
Grading: Pass/Fail
Offered in: Odense
Offered in: Autumn, Spring
Level: Master
Course ID: S150125101
ECTS value: 15
Date of Approval: 29-10-2025
Duration: 1 semester
Course Title
Course ID
S150125101
ECTS value
15
Responsible study board
Date of Approval
Course Responsible
| Name | Department | |
|---|---|---|
| Ditte Søndergaard Linde | dsondergaard@health.sdu.dk | Klinisk Institut |
| Erik Jørs | ejoers@health.sdu.dk | Klinisk Institut |
Teachers
Course secretary
| Name | Department | City | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karoline Vahle Olesen | kvolesen@health.sdu.dk | SUND Uddannelse, Studieadministration |
Offered in
Level
Offered in
Duration
Aim and overall content
This is a field-based global health stay in Nepal. The global health stay includes:
- A 1-2 week field-based course where multiple health institutions/sites will be visited throughout the country of Nepal [all students].
- A six-week clinical placement at a local hospital in Nepal [elective A] OR a six-week internship at the Nepalese NGO [elective B].
Overall purpose of global health in Nepal
The overall purpose of the global health stay in Nepal is for students to gain practical experience with global health provision and clinical medicine at an institution in a Low-and-Middle-Income Country (LMIC). The stay will give the students epidemiologic insights into diseases common in a LMIC, which are less prevalent in their home countries. Further, the students will gain a deeper understanding of how healthcare systems operate in LMICs, including policy, funding, and infrastructure challenges. Finally, exposure to a different culture will help students develop cultural sensitivity and improve their ability to provide care to diverse populations. The global health stay in Nepal is part of the internationalisation of the medical degree and provides a foundation for an
international network and provides a global perspective to medical science and clinical practice.
Specific purpose and overall content of field-based course [all students]
This course provides a comprehensive, field-based exploration of the epidemiologic transition and health system structure in a LMIC with an in-depth exploration of climate, environmental and women’s health issues. Students will engage directly with local institutions and healthcare settings to understand the unique challenges and opportunities in these areas. For example, students may travel to various urban and rural locations in Nepal and visit the Ministry Health, private and public hospitals, cultural sites, community-outreach programs, and environmental project sites. The course combines theoretical knowledge with practical
experience, aiming to equip students with the skills and insights necessary for effective medical and public health practice in diverse and resource-limited environments.
Specific purpose and overall content of clinical placement [elective A]
The students select at clinical placement at either Karnali Academy of Health Sciences (in Jumla) or College of Medical Sciences (in Chitwan).The specific purpose of the clinical placement is to strengthen the students’ clinical knowledge, skills and competences in health provision and clinical medicine in a LMIC context. The students will enhance their clinical skills by working in a healthcare setting that operates with limited resources. This includes diagnosing and treating diseases prevalent in Nepal, which may differ significantly from those in their home countries. Further, the clinical placement will strengthen the students’ understanding of different cultures and traditions for understanding diseases, treatment and/or prevention, and create awareness of the differences/challenges in disease patterns and health service provision around the world. This will contribute to the student’s knowledge and skills of how medical science and clinical practice advances on a continuous basis, both from a local and global perspective.
Specific purpose and overall content of internship [elective B]
The students can select an internship at the NGO, Nepal Development Society (NeDs), in Kathmandu, Chitwan or Pokhara. The specific purpose of the internship is to provide experience in applying and reflecting on the use of scientific knowledge and actionable efforts in working for an NGO in a LMIC including project management, increase knowledge about how research is conducted and/or how health projects are implemented, monitored, and evaluated in a LMIC. For example, students may be involved in conducting surveys, analyse data, participate in health education campaigns, and engage in community health initiative.
This elective will contribute to the student’s understanding of continuously maintaining and further developing one's own knowledge and knowledge of research methods that form medical science.
For an in-depth description of how this course contributes to the overall competence profile of the programme, please see the competency matrix. Here you will see the connection between the learning objectives for each course and the competence profile of the programme - see here.
Mandatory prerequisites
Having passed at least 80 ECTS on the master’s degree program as well as the mandatory clinical placements
before the start of the 5th semester
Relationship between the learning objectives, type of teaching and type of examination
With the global health stay in Nepal, the students can add an international perspective to their profile as a medical doctor, which will bridge the gap between global health theory and practice in a clinical and nonclinical setting in a Low-and-Middle-Income Country (LMIC). The exam documents the students’ active engagement in the field and the main take-aways/learning from their global stay.
Learning Objectives - Knowledge
When the global health stay concludes, the student is expected to:
For the field-based course:
- Have knowledge of various health institutions in Nepal and health system structures in a LMIC.
- Have knowledge of the varying factors that influence Nepal’s epidemiological transition, women’s health and environmental health.
- Understand prioritisation at health facilities with limited resources.
- Have knowledge of various cultural and societal factors that influence health behaviour in Nepal
For the clinical placement:
- Have knowledge of the most common, local disease patterns and health challenges.
- Have knowledge of the local health system.
- Have knowledge of preventive and curative health activities.
For the internship:
- Understand how to carry out specific work-related tasks/functions within the specific project or healthcare area.
- Explain and exemplify appropriate research methods and approaches within a specific research project/specific healthcare initiatives.
Learning Objectives - Skills
When the global health stay concludes, the student is expected to:
For the field-based course:
- Communicate to healthcare professionals and peers about various health care challenges in Nepal and culturally sensitive behaviour.
- Describe epidemiological transition in Nepal and analyse how women's health and environmental health issues differs in Nepal compared to Denmark.
For the clinical placement:
- Diagnose and propose initial treatment for the most common diseases treated at the hospital.
- Cooperate with healthcare professionals under conditions, which are markedly different from those experienced in the Danish health system.
- Reflect on the differences between the health care system in Nepal and Denmark and the reasons for this.
For the internship:
- Apply research methods such as literature reviews, collecting and/or analysing quantitative and/or qualitative data.
- Participate in practical tasks, including contributions to the development, administration and/or management of projects within the healthcare field.
- Plan, develop and conduct activities in relation to a healthcare project in a real-life context.
Learning Objectives - Competencies
When the global health stay concludes, the student is expected to:
For the field-based course:
- Apply public health theories and methods in real-world settings and demonstrate improved cultural competence and practical problem-solving skills.
- Analyse and present observations from site visits
For the clinical placement:
- Demonstrate professional conduct in relation to the patients and colleagues in adherence to local customs.
For the internship:
- Manage and contribute to the development, implementation, and evaluation of health projects/activities in a real-life setting.
- Be able to organise, execute, assess, and adjust work tasks and structure one’s own learning.
- Collaborate interdisciplinary in public health-related initiatives with relevant stakeholders on local, national, or international level and adherence to local customs.
Teaching format and feedback
Teaching is organised in such a way as to support the SDU’s Underlying principle for active learning and activating teaching, as well as the Faculty of Health study’s translation of this principle - the FAIR principles.
The following forms of instruction and work may be applied in the field-based course: Site-visits, lectures, discussions, self-study
The following forms of instruction and work may be applied in the clinical placement: Clinical training, observation.
The following forms of instruction and work may be applied in the field-based course: Dialogue, discussions, site visits, active participation, independent studies
Time of classes
September-October/November, February-March/April.
Number of lessons
MySchedule
Teaching language
Expected student workload in this course
15 ECTS is equivalent to 412,5 working hours.
The working hours are distributed between the activities listed under Forms of instruction, work and feedback as well as the exam including the preparation of this.
The students' workload is expected to be distributed as follows:
- Field-based course: 68 hours
- Self-study/preparation for lectures: 80 hours
- Clinical training or internship (6 weeks x 37 hours): 222 hours
- Preparation for the exam: 39,5 hours
- Exam activities: 3 hours
Examination regulations
Portfolio and oral global health stay presentation
Name
Portfolio and oral global health stay presentation
Time of examination
Exam: The portfolio will be filled in during the global health stay in Nepal. The oral presentation will
be held at the end of course (in January/June) at SDU campus, Odense, Denmark.
Reexam: March (Autumn semester), August (spring semester).
Tests
Portfolio and oral global health stay presentation
EKA
S150125102
Name
Portfolio and oral global health stay presentation
Description
The examination consists of two parts:
- A portfolio with learning objectives that must be filled out by the responsible mentor, supervisor, doctor etc., during the global health stay in Nepal.
- A 10 min. individual oral presentation and 5 min. questions from the course coordinators and peers (all medical students who have been abroad on the 5th semester and other students interested in global health or considering going abroad on the 5th semester of the Master of Medicine). The exam will be held at SDU campus, Odense, at the end of the semester in Denmark with the possibility to present online if enrolled in Esbjerg.
For the field-based course, the presentation should document various site visits and focus on the main takeaways/learning from the course as well as describe the epidemiologic transition in Nepal or give examples of how women's health or environmental health issues differs between Nepal and Denmark.
For the clinical placement, the presentation should focus on the main take-aways/learnings from the student’s clinical placement and overall stay in Nepal. The presentation can focus on a particular clinical case, differences in certain practices, cultural differences, management, treatment, journal system, outpatient care, etc. The presentation must include a comparison of the differences between Nepalese and Danish practices.
For the internship, the presentation should focus on the main take-aways/learnings from the internship and overall stay in Nepal. The presentation can focus on a particular research project, a certain project activity/event/initiative, how research projects are planned, carried out and evaluated in Nepal, and how a health NGO manages projects and relations with different stakeholders. The presentation must include a description of how the student structured their own learning and which research methodologies their used during the internship.
All students, should expect provide feedback and ask questions to everyone’s presentations.
Form of examination
Portfolio with oral defence
Censorship
Second examiner: None
Grading
Pass/Fail
Identification
Full name and SDU username
Language
English
Length
Examination aids
Not relevant for this type of test.
ECTS value
15
Additional information
Considering the method of assessment and the current study level, specific emphasis will be put on the extent to which the student´s performance meets the learning objectives as well as to what extent the student masters the general competence objectives mentioned in the curriculum,
The Pass/Fail assessment reflects if the student properly understands the general and discipline specific competencies.
Reexamination takes place in the same way as the ordinary examination.
External comment
Global Health stay in Nepal (15 ECTS) must be accomplished in the same semester as the master’s thesis (15 ECTS) unless the student is enrolled in a pre-graduate research year. During the pre-graduate research year, the Global Health stay in Nepal is conducted at the beginning of the semester, after which the student continues with their pre-graduate leave and completes the following semester with the master's thesis. More information can be found on Graduate school's website.
Courses offered
| Offer period | Offer type | Profile | Education | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2026 | Optional | Kandidatuddannelsen i medicin - Optaget 1. februar 2025 | Master of Science (MSc) in Medicine | Odense | |
| Spring 2026 | Optional | Kandidatuddannelsen i medicin - Optaget 1. februar 2026 | Master of Science (MSc) in Medicine | Odense | |
| Spring 2026 | Optional | Kandidatuddannelsen i medicin - Optaget 1. september 2023 | Master of Science (MSc) in Medicine | Odense | |
| Spring 2026 | Optional | Kandidatuddannelsen i medicin - Optaget 1. september 2024 | Master of Science (MSc) in Medicine | Odense | |
| Spring 2026 | Optional | Kandidatuddannelsen i medicin - Optaget 1. september 2025 | Master of Science (MSc) in Medicine | Odense | |
| Spring 2026 | Optional | Klinikprofil - Optaget 1. februar 2023 | Master of Science (MSc) in Medicine | Odense | |
| Spring 2026 | Optional | Klinikprofil - Optaget 1. september 2022 | Master of Science (MSc) in Medicine | Odense | |
| Spring 2026 | Optional | Forskningsprofil - Optaget 1. februar 2023 | Master of Science (MSc) in Medicine | Odense | |
| Spring 2026 | Optional | Forskningsprofil - Optaget 1. september 2022 | Master of Science (MSc) in Medicine | Odense | |
| Spring 2026 | Optional | International profil - Optaget 1. februar 2023 | Master of Science (MSc) in Medicine | Odense | |
| Spring 2026 | Optional | International profil - Optaget 1. september 2022 | Master of Science (MSc) in Medicine | Odense | |
| Spring 2026 | Optional | Kandidatuddannelsen i medicin - Optaget 1. februar 2024 | Master of Science (MSc) in Medicine | Odense |
Kassograms
Derogation from the general rules for cancellation
Cancellation of registration for this course is not permitted from the start of the semester and 21 days onwards, where cancellation is generally allowed. Therefore, registration for the course will be binding. Reference is made to the Collection of Rules for University of Southern Denmark regarding registration for course elements and exams § 5, section 3-5.