I did international schooling while at civi-U and it was well worth my time. I am not sure about other professions, but in the health care field, if you want to learn about trauma - you go where the violence is. If you want to learn about how to manage care for the socioeconomically depressed - you go where the poor are. If you want to see infectious diseases - you go where people have infectious diseases. All of these skills were enhanced for me by seeking schooling in areas where I could find an abundance of patients, diseases, and experts to learn from.
Do you think these are valuable skills for someone who deploys overseas to have? You bet, and my skill set would not be strong if I did not seek out exchanges while in ROTP and PGTP outside of Canada.
I suspect the same is true for people studying conflict, history, languages, and development engineering
It is worth the experience (and even additional personal and financial cost), if the experience is of value to the service - and my patients.
MC
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