Costa Rica: Pre-Health in Practice

Costa Rica | Sample 10-Day Faculty-Led Program

Explore Healthcare Through a Different Cultural Lens

Designed for students preparing for careers in healthcare, this immersive Costa Rica program explores how culture, community, healthcare systems, and the environment shape health and wellbeing.

Students learn directly from healthcare professionals and organizations working across emergency response, community health, specialized care, rehabilitation, healthy aging, and clinical education while developing cultural awareness and a broader understanding of patient-centered care. The program also incorporates Costa Rican culture, food, sustainability, and natural environments to help students understand health beyond the clinical setting.

Sample 10-Day Itinerary

A Sample Program, Built to Be Customized

This itinerary shows what a Costa Rica: Pre-Health in Practice program could look like. Specific activities, organizations, site visits, and sequencing will vary based on program dates, group size, academic goals, partner availability, time of year, and other local considerations.

We’ll work with your faculty and study abroad team to adapt the program to your course objectives and students. Activities listed below are examples and subject to availability and confirmation.

Day 1 | Arrival & Introduction to Healthcare in Costa Rica

Arrive in Costa Rica, meet your EdOdyssey Program Leader, and settle into the program with an in-country orientation covering culture, health and safety, transportation, and expectations.

Students are introduced to Costa Rica’s healthcare system and key questions they will explore throughout the program.

Sample Experiences:
Arrival orientation • Introduction to Costa Rican healthcare • Welcome dinner • Group reflection

Day 2 | Public Health, History & Environment

Explore the relationship between history, disease, environment, and public health through a visit to an iconic volcanic landscape and historic healthcare site.

Students examine how approaches to disease prevention and treatment have evolved over time.

Sample Experiences:
Irazú Volcano • Sanatorio Durán • Public health history • Cultural exploration

Day 3 | Emergency Response & Community Health

Discover San José while learning how emergency medical services, disaster preparedness, and community response contribute to public health.

Students examine how healthcare systems prepare for emergencies and respond to the needs of diverse communities.

Sample Experiences:
San José cultural orientation • Emergency response experience • Disaster preparedness • EMS and community health

Day 4 | Healthcare Access & Clinical Practice

Visit healthcare organizations serving different patient populations and compare approaches to healthcare delivery.

Students consider access, health equity, community-based care, and differences between public, private, and community healthcare models.

Sample Experiences:
Community healthcare organization • Hospital visit • Healthcare access • Health equity • System comparison

Day 5 | Specialized Care & Patient-Centered Health

Learn about specialized care through organizations addressing palliative care, recovery, mental health, and other community health needs.

Students consider what compassionate, holistic care looks like across different stages and circumstances of life.

Sample Experiences:
Palliative care • Rehabilitation and recovery • Mental health • Community support systems • Patient-centered care

Day 6 | Healthy Aging & Clinical Simulation

Examine interdisciplinary approaches to aging, mobility, independence, and quality of life.

Students then participate in a collaborative clinical simulation experience, potentially alongside Costa Rican healthcare students, putting communication, teamwork, and clinical reasoning into practice across cultures.

Sample Experiences:
Healthy aging • Residential care • Clinical simulation • Intercultural healthcare collaboration • Costa Rican cooking experience

Day 7 | Food, Sustainability & Community Wellbeing

Step outside the clinical environment to explore broader determinants of health. Consider how food, agriculture, livelihoods, and culture shape community wellbeing beyond the clinical environment.

Students explore sustainable agriculture and food production before traveling toward the coast for the final portion of the program.

Sample Experiences:
Sustainable coffee production • Farm experience • Traditional lunch • Food systems • Travel to the Pacific Coast

Day 8 | Biodiversity & Environmental Wellness

Discover one of Costa Rica’s protected natural environments alongside a local naturalist.

Students consider connections between environmental health, conservation, physical wellbeing, and community quality of life while experiencing Costa Rica’s biodiversity firsthand.

Sample Experiences:
National park • Tropical ecology • Wildlife • Conservation • Environmental wellness

Day 9 | Reflection, Integration & Return to San José

Reflect on the program’s experiences and connect individual site visits to larger questions about healthcare, culture, community, and future professions. Return to San José and conclude the program with a shared farewell dinner.

Sample Experiences:
Independent reflection • Faculty-led synthesis • Return to San José • Farewell dinner

Day 10 | Departure

Depart Costa Rica with new perspectives on healthcare, community wellbeing, and culturally responsive care.

Sample Experiences:
Breakfast • Airport transfer • Departure

Make this program your own

Use this program as your starting point or tell us what you’d change. We’ll work with you to align the itinerary with your course objectives, students, preferred dates, group size, and budget.