Indonesian Healthcare Study Tour

In June, I was lucky enough to participate in a 2-week study tour in Indonesia, hosted by Universitas Indonesia, in Depok, just outside of Jakarta. This program was to learn about the Indonesian Healthcare system and how it compares to Australia. I am currently studying Bachelor of Nursing and one of my future goals is to work as a nurse overseas. I hoped that by participating in this program I would be able to gain an insight into nursing in another country, such as Indonesia.

Staff and students from Universitas Indonesia gave us a warm welcome. We were given a tour of the Universitas Indonesia, and we had a basic lesson in Bahasa Indonesian to hopefully help with our communication on the trip.

We visited the University hospital, visiting a couple of different wards. I was surprised at how similar it was to an Australian hospital.

We were shown around a Waste Management site in Bogor and enjoyed a song in Indonesian about Rubbish Recycling. Visits to Puskemas (community health centres), Posbindus and Posyandus (pop-up monthly health centres in villages) showed us how health services are delivered to the community. I was surprised at the number of centres which were run mostly by volunteers. It also stood out to me how all the nurses, volunteers and patients were all so welcoming to us in the community. They presented us with some local foods and I enjoyed conversations (some with google translate) to get to know some of the local people. 

We visited an Indonesian High School to get an outline of the health education they receive and interacted with staff and students.

We attended some public lectures and Q&A sessions with university and guest lecturers as well as nursing managers from the health facilities we visited. This gave us greater insight into the Indonesian Healthcare system and some of the challenges they face. We were taught a traditional Indonesian dance by some of the Indonesian students. Wearing traditional sarongs, which we presented the dance to teachers and students on the final day.

We spent our weekend sightseeing and doing other activities with some of the Indonesian students showing us around and giving us recommendations. I enjoyed the experience and learning about the Indonesian healthcare system which has expanded my understanding of other cultures and can influence my career as a nurse.

I made some lasting memories and great connections and friendships and hope to see some of the people we met again one day, either back in Indonesia or maybe here in Australia.

Nancy Meadows
Faculty of Health
Faculty-Led – HEALTH – Indonesia Study Tour at Universitas Indonesia
New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant recipient