[SingDanceRunLife]

Yesterday I realized that it's gonna take me another 2 years to finish my degree rather than a year and a half and that made me think that I can probably study abroad. I've emailed both my major's department chair and the office for global education and will hopefully get answers on Monday.

I was reading about going abroad on my school's website and reading about the different programs they have, and there's one in the Dominican Republic which I think is just awesome, the problem is I don't speak a lick of Spanish (although I will have a year's worth by the time I go abroad)...but if I can't go to the DR the question becomes where? My school also has programs in England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Spain and the Czech Republic, and you can go practically anywhere else as long as it's with an accredited school program, like one of my friends went to Australia last year and another is in France right now.

I think it would be awesome to go somewhere but I'm worried about going so far away...right now I go to school just over an hour away from home and less than 10 minutes from my pdoc so if anything ever goes wrong I have who I need close by...

[shipping]

Well, how long of a commitment would you have to make? I mean, if you could study abroad for one semester only, you might get enough medication to last that long, and check in with a T via skype. I'm excited! O, you don't know me. I am functional. Been mental since age 7; physically ill since birth but I managed to earn a PhD while raising a child by myself. No help at all from parents. Currently, I teach at a major university even though now, to top it all off, I am going blind. So I applaud you for considering Study Abroad and I hope I can help you work it out. Our university has a great program for that; I have written several letters of rec to get some students of mine accepted for the program. So I just popped in because I saw your thread title. Good luck! Feel free to friend me and PM me. shipping

[fishsandwich]

Originally Posted by SingDanceRunLife

My school also has programs in England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Spain and the Czech Republic, and you can go practically anywhere else as long as it's with an accredited school program, like one of my friends went to Australia last year and another is in France right now.

I think it would be awesome to go somewhere but I'm worried about going so far away...right now I go to school just over an hour away from home and less than 10 minutes from my pdoc so if anything ever goes wrong I have who I need close by...

I live in England. I used to be a social worker and one of my various jobs was supporting people at my former university who had a psychiatric diagnosis, including Americans on the School's study abroad course. My experience was that it was very, very difficult for them to get reciprocal treatment on the National Health Service. Referrals will often take up to six months, and it was not uncommon for an American to see an English psych once time and have their diagnosis and meds from the US completely changed. Quite a few drugs you have licensed over there are not available here, too.
ETA: And provision of talk therapy is mostly dependant on either having enough money to pay for it outright or on being sufficiently linked with a local borough to get on their NHS therapy waiting list and then waiting for months and months. Some unis do have counsellors you could see, though.

So that's not a small concern. I'm not trying to scare you off, but yeah. It's a serious consideration. The ethics and philosophy (as well as availability) of psych treatments and medications are different around the world. It's something you should research very carefully if continuing your med regime is important when you go abroad.

[SingDanceRunLife]

I want to go for a semester (so ~3-4 months). I get my meds delivered to me n 3 month increments, so if I were going to be gone just for 3 months there would be no problem. If I were going to be gone longer we could run into trouble.

[Morghana]

I'm on study abroad right now, actually, in Ireland (I'm from the US). My school had a program with Trinity College Dublin, and it's been mostly a good experience. I've learned a lot by being here, and it gave me a lot of perspective in my studies, since I'm a history/archaeology major. I opted to spend a semester abroad rather than a year, and for me, that was the right choice. Five months away from home felt like a lot, since I'm pretty young and I'd never really been away before on my own. Some people think the semester is too short...so I guess it just depends on you.

The odd thing I've noticed about being abroad is that what you miss most is just how easy everything is at home. At home, you can take stuff for granted. If you get sick at home, you know where the pharmacy is and what meds to buy and you know what doctors you can ask. If you get sick away from home, though, you don't know these things and finding them out is a pain. So you have to be prepared to deal with your own problems and ask for help when you need it.

If you want to know anything else, please don't hesitate to PM me. I hope your experience is good.

[insideout]

That sounds awesome. I hope you do it! I would love to study abroad and maybe when I go back to college I will try it.

[PsychiatricEnigma]

I can't speak for the other countries you listed but in the UK we have the NHS which is free-to-use and at universities you can sign with a GP (doctor) who will make all important referrals, medications and stuff have different names over here, but obviously your doctor might know all about that. I don't know how bad your mental health is/can get but we have a hospital admissions process to the US if that's something which worries you except a court order is not required here for compulsory treatment, but the opinion of a psychiatrist, another MHA approved doctor and a social worker. But it's hard to get involuntarily committed here since there's few beds available and they're reserved for the most seriously psychotic and suicidal patients.

There's usually special counsellors and stuff at universities for helping International Students fit in aswell.

Hope you enjoy studying abroad if you choose to do so, it's a unique experience. x

[fishsandwich]

Originally Posted by PsychiatricEnigma

I can't speak for the other countries you listed but in the UK we have the NHS which is free-to-use and at universities you can sign with a GP (doctor) who will make all important referrals, medications and stuff have different names over here, but obviously your doctor might know all about that.

Entitlement to care on the NHS depends on a number of factors for foreigners, including the duration and purpose of the stay and the type of services required. Some NHS trusts, for example, exclude non-EU nationals who have lived in the UK for less than six months from seeing consultants or specialists except in emergency situations. Even where not the case, waiting times can be exceptionally high in university boroughs and major metropolitan areas.

It's important the OP checks their own entitlements (likely with the uni he/she intends to enrol at) before they go, including the availability of desired treatments in that country. This is true no matter which country is selected.

[venusss]

If you are going for cultural experience... I'd suggest Czech republic is a good choice... dynamic and thriving post-transition society. Which school and what would you study? I know Erasmus students are quite satisfied with the english programs on Charles and Masaryk's universities.

However.... if you go come here... STAY FAR AWAY FROM THE HEALTHCARE. Take care of those things home and STAY AWAY. It's not even bad as the competences go (although it varies a lot), but Czech doctors are very entitled and rude and unpleasant (and often expect bribes). And often don't speak English (yeah, there are MH experts in Prague and Brno that speak English.... but they don't speak it for free so it say).

Outside of that.... it's safe, relativelly cheap (although Prague...not so much anymore). THere's also a load of foreign students on our Unis, so you can lean on each other for dealing with the culture shock.

[SingDanceRunLife]

Wow! Thanks for all the replies guys!

I think a semester is absolutely long enough and I also don't want to do a year anyway due to timing..

I've thought about England as a second choice, although the Czech Republic would be cool too and my school has a program in Prague, a place I've always wanted to go.

As for healthcare I really just need to make sure I can get the meds I need. There might even be a way for me to get all the meds I'll need at home before even going abroad.

[SingDanceRunLife]

Well my school's program to the DR has been put on hold, so I guess I'm not going there.

[rickymartin]

Go for it best of luck...!!

[SingDanceRunLife]

Thanks. I still have to figure out if it's possible to study abroad, but if it is, I definitely want to do it!

[Merlin]

I don't think I'll study abroad, but maybe if I get my RN rather than RPN, I'll work a few years abroad.