Immersed in community and culture

For many university students, a study tour in a developing nation is a leap into the unfamiliar – complete with culture shock, language barriers, and a sensory overload of new sights, smells and sounds.

Not so for Ellie Gardiner, a nursing and paramedicine student at ACU’s Ballarat Campus. Through her childhood and adolescence, Ellie’s parents regularly took the family overseas where they volunteered in countries like Cambodia and Vanuatu, making her far more worldly than the typical undergraduate.

“I spent lots of time growing up and living in the developing world because my parents worked as teachers with aid organisations and things like that,” says Ellie, who is in the third year of her Bachelor of Nursing/Bachelor of Paramedicine.

“That’s the whole reason why I chose my course – I wanted a career that would allow me to work overseas in humanitarian aid and healthcare. So when the opportunity came up to travel to the Philippines, I knew I had to go.”  

In late 2024, Ellie was part of a small-but-resourceful group of ACU nursing students who travelled to the southeast Asian nation for a short-term international study experience funded by the Federal Government’s New Colombo Plan.

In the first week of the tour, undergraduates worked alongside local health practitioners in Manila, in placements facilitated by ACU’s international partner, the University of Santo Tomás. 

“It was awesome to be overseas feeling part of a community and there for a purpose, rather than seeing a place from an outsider tourist’s perspective,” says Ellie, who was one of eight students on the tour.

“The things we observed and experienced were so amazing and varied, and just very different to what you’d see in an Australian healthcare context.”

Shifting perspectives

Despite her extensive travel background, Ellie recalls several eye-opening moments during the 17-day professional placement – including observing high-level surgery in a hospital operating theatre.

“That was insanely awesome, and definitely not the type of opportunity that a nursing student would have in a hospital back at home,” she says. “That’s part of what made this such a special experience – we got to see firsthand what healthcare is like in a different part of the world, and that gave us a wider perspective of our own healthcare system and how privileged we are.”

Others also expressed a sense of gratitude for the lessons they learned. Take Joash Tluang, who was part of a group of 13 ACU students who visited the Philippines in January 2025, and says the experience shifted his “entire perspective of the world”.

“It ignited within me a strong passion to make a difference, not just as a nurse but as a person,” says Joash, who studies at ACU’s Blacktown Campus. “This journey has shaped my vision of the nurse I want to be – a nurse who contributes to a more compassionate, equitable future.”

Hands-on help

ACU’s study programs in the Philippines are not only about observing healthcare practitioners; they’re also about community engagement and cultural immersion.

In the second week, student nurses travelled to the rural Bulacan region, where they played a hands-on role in the care of local people. This included administering vaccinations to hundreds of local children at schools and health clinics.

“That experience of working in a really busy clinic in a rural area alongside local healthcare workers where things are done differently, it’s a real eye-opener for our students,” says Sharni Lavell, a senior lecturer on the Brisbane Campus, who led two study tours to the Philippines in 2024.

“We visited both an animal bites clinic and a tuberculosis clinic – experiences that nursing students in Australia would rarely encounter.

“It was eye-opening for them to see that high-quality healthcare can still be delivered without the resources we often take for granted. That’s an incredibly valuable lesson.”

ACU’s ongoing partnership with the University of Santo Tomás has also proven valuable for both institutions, she adds.

“Building strong relationships and engaging with our partners is essential. For our students, it means we can keep enhancing their experience in the Philippines – helping them to gain deeper insight into the unique healthcare challenges in a developing country, and how local communities collaborate to overcome them.”

Opening eyes

Students were impressed with the resourcefulness of local healthcare staff, as well as their ability to care for patients in the face of scarcity.

“Healthcare providers had to be resourceful, using what they had as effectively as possible,” says Joash, who hopes to one day blend nursing with humanitarian work. “It taught me to think creatively and make the most out of what was available … and it also really showed me how much family and community support influence healthcare in the Philippines, and how cultural values shape the way care is given.”

“The students learn so much in a short period of time,” says John Aquino, a nursing lecturer at ACU’s Blacktown Campus, who accompanied students to the Philippines in early 2025 alongside fellow lecturer Tricia Ke.

“Most of them had limited experience travelling overseas and being away from their families, and that can be challenging, but it’s amazing how quickly they adapted. In the end, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive from every single student. There are so many rewards and so many learning outcomes, and they all came back with their eyes open to how different healthcare can be in different parts of the world.”

As for Ellie Gardiner, she says the Philippines trip has reinforced her desire to pursue a career in humanitarian healthcare.

“I’m not entirely sure what my exact career path will be,” she says, “but this experience has definitely excited me.”

Her advice to others considering a short-term international study experience in the developing world? Take the leap.

“Totally do it,” she says. “Even if you don’t have a plan to work in aid or anything like that, having the open-mindedness to explore new experiences will be a great learning opportunity. It will probably make you a better nurse, and you’ll have an amazing experience along the way.”

Keen to make a difference through a career in nursing? Explore the options.

Find out more about the New Colombo Plan.