Rutgers School of Nursing–Camden is expanding its global learning opportunities with a new learning abroad program in the Philippines, offering students an immersive look at health care beyond U.S. borders.
Jamille Nagtalon-Ramos, Assistant Professor, Rutgers School of Nursing–Camden
Jamille Nagtalon-Ramos, assistant professor with the School of Nursing, led the inaugural trip which allowed students to engage with local nurses, patients, schoolchildren, politicians, academic and health care professionals, healers, and community members while examining how culture, policy, and social conditions shape health outcomes.
“Two decades ago, as a junior nursing student at Rutgers, I participated in a study abroad program in Peru. The experience transformed my understanding of the importance of community engagement in global health care and expanded my awareness of how culture, family, the country’s colonial history, economics, and religion shape health outcomes in ways that no textbook could fully capture,” Nagtalon-Ramos said.
Twenty-seven years later, she welcomed the opportunity to lead the inaugural cohort of 15 students to the Philippines. Nagtalon-Ramos was raised in Manila and developed strong relationships with individuals in the medical and professional community after a 2010 visit to the University of the Philippines College of Nursing (UPCN).
Nagtalon-Ramos nurtured and maintained a connection with UPCN since that first visit, which eventually led to the development of the learning abroad program and the formalization of the partnership between Rutgers School of Nursing–Camden and the University of the Philippines Manila through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed during the inaugural trip.
The MOU Signing at Philippine General Hospital: University of the Philippines College of Nursing Dean Sheila Bonito, University of the Philippines Manila Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Hazel Reyes, Rutgers School of Nursing–Camden Assistant Professor Jamille Nagtalon-Ramos
“The MOU formalizes a partnership that has been developing organically over many years,” Nagtalon-Ramos said. “While our collaborations have included research, lectures, and faculty engagement, the MOU provides an institutional framework to sustain and expand that work in a structured and strategic way.”
One tangible example of this expanding collaboration is the learning abroad experience, which draws on the partnership formalized by the MOU while also incorporating contributions from a broader network of partners, including the Philippine Nurses Association of New Jersey.
Top row: Joshua Lindquist, Hamilton Pangan, Leah Japzon, Leo Ramos, Jomar Gonzalez; Bottom row: Jenelle Luis, Leilani Ramos, Bella Bascara, Kaiylah Mercado, Jamille Nagtalon-Ramos, Dean Sheila Bonito, Angeli Pocdihon, Eriah Pocdihon, Catharine Muljono, Bea Faigal, Sam Dela Cruz, Jada Toliver, Floreliz Ngaya-an, and Laurence Parial
The inaugural group included 13 nursing students, along with a history major and a business major, who explored the complexities of health care in the Philippines through a blend of rigorous classroom preparation and immersive, on-the-ground experience. Grounded in the history of the nation’s health system, workforce migration, and social determinants of health, students entered clinical and community settings prepared to think critically about what they observed. They witnessed high-acuity, resource-constrained care at major hospitals, participated in community-based public health efforts and medical missions, and contributed directly through the distribution of essential supplies and thousands of nutrient-rich meals.
Their experience was further enriched through conversations with policymakers, exposure to how the media can influence public health, and engagement with Filipino history, culture, and traditional healing practices, which fostered a holistic understanding of how structural, cultural, and historical forces shape health outcomes.
“My goal was to cultivate nurses who think systemically,” said Nagtalon-Ramos. “By preparing them academically and then immersing them experientially, students developed cultural humility, structural awareness, and a deeper appreciation for how policy, history, and community context shape clinical care and health care access.”
For Nagtalon-Ramos, however, the program is more than just an academic endeavor. It is a deeply personal one, rooted in her own lived experience and family legacy.
“As a third-generation nurse, born and raised in the Philippines, nursing has always been more than a profession in my family, it is part of our identity and our story of migration and service,” Nagtalon-Ramos said. “Ultimately, I hope this experience produces nurses and citizens who consider their kapwa – a Tagalog (the language of the Philippines) word for shared identity with others –as they navigate their everyday life.”
See additional photos of the inaugural Rutgers School of Nursing–Camden’s Learning Abroad trip to the Philippines below.