Service-Learning in Bolivia Program for Dental Hygiene Students 2024

Program Summary

Join Shoreline Dental Hygiene instructor Katie Fleming on this unique service-learning program in Bolivia for Dental Hygiene students!

The program explores the connections between socio-economic factors and health outcomes in Bolivia. Bolivia is a country of staggering diversity, high economic disparity and urban and rural contrast. Access to healthcare in Bolivia is often inequitable. The itinerary explores the diversity of factors, including geography, education, economics, religion, and politics, that affect Bolivians’ health and access to health services. Through visits to the Smiles Forever Dental Clinic, service learning in urban and rural settings, visits to a respected university dental program, students will gain insight into the unique challenges and a variety of solutions to providing healthcare in Bolivia and similar socio-economically challenged places.

This program also includes visits to several cultural and natural points of interest!

Program Dates

General Program Introduction/Presentation - Fall Quarter 2024

Meeting(s) with Katie Fleming and interested students to discuss itineraries/potential travel plans - Fall Quarter 2024

Meeting(s) with Katie Fleming and interested students to discuss itineraries/solidify travel plans – beginning of Winter Quarter 2025

Travel program tentatively scheduled for late August-early September 2025; total days of travel approximately 18 days

Estimated Program Fee 

$3900 (including airfare and lodging)

Scholarships potentially available: $500 - $1000, need-based 

Eligibility 

Dental Hygiene students or graduates who have completed a minimum of three quarters of a US Dental Hygiene program (at time of travel). Application process includes completion of an online form, statement of interest, and a letter of support from a faculty member.