Health and Safety

Pre-Departure

First, read up on your host country on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's website to understand local health issues, diseases, and recommended vaccinations. 

Bowdoin’s Health Services offers travel consultations for students studying off-campus. Students should make an appointment particularly if they have personal health needs that may require additional attention in a new country or if they are traveling to a country that may pose higher health risks. It is recommended to book a travel consulation six to eight weeks prior to departure, particularly if you will need vaccinations.

Health Services can also complete program/university medical forms and visa-related medical forms. Be sure to schedule the appropriate appointment well ahead of a form’s due date. 

If you have chronic medical problems or conditions, visit a primary care physician to discuss your care and needs while away. If you have significant allergies or chronic medical needs, consider a MedicAlert bracelet. If a regular health-care visit will be due while you are away (e.g., an eye exam, dental exam, or OBGYN appointment, you may want to take care of it before you depart. If you wear glasses or contact lenses, travel with the written prescription, and consider bringing an extra pair. Depending on the country, you may also want to bring some over-the-counter items (e.g., pain relievers, nausea medicine, period products, COVID-19 tests) which can be expensive or harder to find elsewhere. 

If you have dietary restrictions or food allergies, learn how to communicate them in the local language and in a culturally sensitive way. Take note of food and water precautions recommended by the CDC. 

Beyond Backpacks: Health Learning Resource

Through Bowdoin, you have access to an online resource called "Beyond Backpacks". It is a self-directed learning resource about health-related topics for college students studying or traveling overseas and is created by the American College Health Foundation. Kathy Thorson, Nurse Practitioner and Certified Travel Health care provider here at Bowdoin contributed to this program's development. 

You can opt to complete the entire course or just choose sections that are relevant to you. The videos are short and have a few questions to answer at their end. If you register using your Bowdoin email, Bowdoin will only receive aggregate (not individual) data at the end of the program.

To access the resource:

   1.) Go to Beyond Backpacks.
   2.) Create an account. You will then arrive at "Enroll in Course Section Beyond Backpacks [Term]".
   3.) Click "Enroll".
   4.) Click "I agree" after reading the online consent form.
   5.) You will then arrive at the first welcome page. Then, proceed to "Go to course".

Tip: On the left-hand side of the screen, you will see "Home", "Learn", and "Assignments". "Learn" is the area with a collection of videos that provide information around health and safety. The "Assignments" section provides you with a tool to see what you are learning. 

Note: These videos are not meant as a substitute for individualized travel health advice available at the Bowdoin Travel Clinic. Depending on your desindation, activities, and health status, we stilll encourage you to make an appointment for a travel health consulation by contacting healthservices@bowdoin.edu. 

Accessing Care 

Programs/universities will provide information about on-the-ground healthcare services available to students. If you need to see a doctor, you should contact your program/university for recommendations, lists of contacts, and if you have program insurance, how your doctor’s visit will interact with your program medical insurance (see the Medical Insurance section below for more information). 

Parents may want to consider obtaining power of attorney and HIPAA and FERPA releases in order to make medical decisions for a child overseas in case an emergency arises. 

If you are currently seeing a therapist, speak with your program/university about what counseling services will be available to you locally. Do not stop taking any prescription medication that you take for your mental health; plan ahead with your care team at home and your program/university abroad for how you can take the medication you need while abroad. 

TalkNow: Virtual Mental Health Support

Bowdoin students have access to virtual counseling services while abroad through TimelyCare's TalkNow service. Through TalkNow, you can access on-demand emotional support by connecting with a counselor through phone or video, after a quick registration. TalkNow is available to Bowdoin students worldwide, whenever Bowdoin's Counseling Services is closed. 

TalkNow can be used in conjunction with your program/university's mental health support services. Read more about how to access TalkNow here, and review the helpful FAQs for students studying off-campus at the bottom of that page.

Sexual Health

If you are sexually active, it is important to understand how to maintain positive sexual health in your host country and where to obtain resources and supplies. Depending on how you identify, you may want to consider:

• What are the supplies available for safe sex in my host country?
• What are the supplies available for pregnancy prevention (e.g., prescriptions, Plan B, condoms, pregnancy tests) in my host country?
• Where will I go for the supplies I need?
• Where can I get tested for STDs?

Bowdoin's Health Services can advise on these topics through travel clinic appointments.

Review Health Services' Handout for additional guidance on planning for travel with medications.

Bring sufficient prescription medication for your entire time away; your primary care physician can help you get a waiver from the insurance company to obtain more than the usual one-month supply. Carry prescription medication in its original container and have a copy of the written prescription that gives the drug’s generic, not U.S. brand, name. Some countries restrict the importation or supply of certain medications commonly prescribed in the U.S., so be sure to check with the consulate or embassy. This CDC page is a helpful resource. If you take such a controlled medication, it will help to bring a copy of your medical records and a doctor’s note in case you need to seek a prescription in the host country. Do not mail any kind of medicine.

Additional Considerations for Psychiatric Medications

You should check if the medication you are taking is allowed in the country you will be studying in, and you should check if your program/university provides psychiatry or medication management. This is particularly important if you anticipate needing to adjust your current medications while away.

If you are studying away in the fall:

• You will need to find a provider who can meet with you over the summer and prescribe you a six-month supply of your medication. A primary care office can often do this, but an appointment needs to be made well in advance.
• Bowdoin does not provide psychiatric services over the summer and a six-month prescription cannot be given if you have not been seen within three months by your local provider. Often, a letter from Bowdoin Counseling Services that confirms the medications you are taking will be required. Please request this letter before summer break.

If you are studying away in the spring:

• If you have Bowdoin College Health Insurance; call Pharmacy Member Services one month prior to departure to request authorization for a six-month supply of medication.
• If you have private insurance, contact your insurance provider one month prior to departure to request authorization for a six-month supply of medication.

Country Resources

You should learn more about your host country by reviewing the resources at the Bureau of Consular Affairs, U.S. State Department. Of particular interest is to search for a particular country to read travel advisories issued by the U.S. State Department. Please note that any student that travels to a country with a level 3 advisory level will be required to sign (together with a guardian) a waiver. Finally, prior to departing for your study abroad experience, we encourage you to register your abroad experience with STEP (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program). This is a free service provided by the State Department so that U.S. citizens and others can be better supported in an emergency. Citizens of other countries may reach out to their respective countries’ consular services for a similar service.

Program/University Resources

Students should resist viewing what is strange or new as inevitably dangerous or hostile, but it will take time for a student to be able to interpret signs of danger in an unfamiliar country. During on-site orientations, students will likely learn about potential hazards in the local context and how to avoid or navigate them.

Students studying abroad through a program provider will receive information about safety measures, likely including a 24/7 contact number to call should an unsafe situation arise. In the event of an international or local emergency, if the program’s sources indicate that students’ safety is likely to be threatened, they will take whatever measures they decide to be necessary and prudent, including cancellation, relocation, or even evacuation in the most extreme circumstances.

Students enrolling directly in an international university will rely on the visiting students’ office at the host institution to provide information about safety. Students may need to more vigilant about current events on-site.

Emergency Plans

First, memorize local emergency contact numbers for your program/university and your host country (remember: 911 isn’t the emergency number in other countries), as well as the local consulate/embassy. That said, your program/university staff will likely be the first point of contact for you as you navigate the situation.

Then, compile an emergency action plan. Keep it safe along with other items that you would need in an emergency and share a copy with your emergency contacts at home.

At the start of your term abroad, review the emergency procedures to be followed in the event of fire, earthquake, civil unrest, or terrorist attack. There will probably be emergency phone numbers, and perhaps a common assembly point if it is impossible or unsafe to meet at a central study center/office; keep the numbers handy in your wallet. Programs will likely require you to have a cell phone so that they can reach you quickly in an emergency. In such circumstances, you are unlikely to need to contact Bowdoin’s Office of the Dean of Students or the OCS Office right away, but a dean is always on call if you need follow-up assistance or advice. Given time differences, you can always call Bowdoin Security at 207-725-3500.

General Precautions

• Learn key phrases in the local language that could help you in an emergency.
• Americans and/or U.S. college students can be seen as wealthy (even if they are not) and, therefore, can be a target for robbery, and as representatives of U.S. foreign policy and a target for retaliation (no matter an individual’s views).
• Be cognizant of what you wear (avoid obviously American clothing and display of expensive electronics), and how you act in public. Speak the local language as much as possible, and avoid tourist or ex-pat hangouts.
• Stay away from political demonstrations and local protests.
• Finally, be especially careful about alcohol use. Most safety incidents that students have while studying abroad, especially accidental injuries and brushes with crime, occur in conjunction with unsafe drinking.
• When you go out, bring no more money or credit/ATM cards than you will need. A wallet or passport in a backpack is vulnerable to theft in crowded places. If you do not need valuables with you, store them in a safe place. Leave expensive watches or jewelry in the U.S.
• Before you leave, photocopy or scan your passport’s photo and data pages and other important cards. Keep copies separate from the originals and other valuables.
• You are strongly advised not to drive a car while abroad. For information on traffic-related safety conditions, including bus safety, in countries abroad, consult the Association for Safe International Road Travel.

Identity-based Safety

• Review the Diversity and Identity page for country- and identity-specific resources as you considering your own identities and prepare for your time away.
• In particular, be aware that cultural norms related to gender and sexuality vary widely. Behaviors that are perfectly acceptable in one culture might be highly inappropriate, or even illegal, in another. For example, most Americans think that men and women can have non-sexual relationships with one another — they can be friends and companions without being physically intimate. In some other cultures, people believe it is difficult or impossible for such relationships to exist. Educate yourself about gender and sexuality norms and laws in your host country and be mindful of how behavior that could be unremarkable at Bowdoin might be interpreted in a different cultural context. Be extra-cautious regarding nightlife and the consumption of alcohol until you are familiar with the culture and city.

In the case that you, or someone you know, has been assaulted, there are several different resources available both abroad, and at Bowdoin. Your safety, health and well-being are extremely important. You should follow the in-case-of-emergency guidelines provided by on-site staff.

• Your program’s staff or your university’s visiting student staff can be good resources to give you support while in your host country. (You may want to ask the on-site staff about local resources that can provide area specific information about sexual health.)
• Whether you are a survivor of sexual assault, or a friend of a survivor, Bowdoin is committed to providing resources and foster healing for all students while abroad and back on campus. If you are interested in learning more about support, options, preventing gender violence, or understanding any part of the process of recovery, healing, or navigating the experience of sexual assault, reach out to Rachel Reinke, Resources Specialist & Confidential Resources Advisor (rreinke@bowdoin.edu) or Elena Keogh, Associate Director of the Office of Gender Violence Prevention and Health Education the at any time.
• Students are encouraged to reach out to any of the resources on campus including the Counseling Center for support with experiences of sexual violence. They can provide support and help you navigate campus services and options.
  • Privileged and confidential resources, which do not report to the Title IX office, include: 
    • Rachel Reinke, rreinke@bowdoin.edu
    • Health Services, healthservices@bowdoin.edu 
    • Counseling Services, counseling@bowdoin.edu or +1 207-725-3145
  • Non-reporting resources (do not support to the Title IX office except in very limited circumstances):
    • Natalie Turrin, n.turrin@bowdoin.edu, Director of the Sexuality, Women, & Gender Center
    • Jasmine Ross, j.ross@bowdoin.edu, Director for the Center for Multicultural Life
• If you would like to report an incident of gender-based violence experienced or witnessed by you or someone you know, you can do so using the Online Reporting Form. Reporters may remain anonymous through the online form.
• You can also connect with Bowdon’s interim Title IX Coordinator, Britt Swett, via phone +1 207-725-3493 or email (titleix@bowdoin.edu) to make a report or to understand the reporting process.

Medical Insurance

All Bowdoin students must be enrolled in a health insurance plan while studying off-campus. OCS students will be automatically enrolled in the Bowdoin College Student Health Insurance Plan and a charge will remain on your student’s bill. To learn more about study away coverage through Bowdoin, please refer to this site. Students may waive Bowdoin coverage if they have comparable coverage for both emergency and non-emergency services. If insured by a family or a private insurance plan, be sure you have sufficient health and accident insurance, including travel before and after your program/university semester. Students’ needs and preferences for insurance depend on the location and facilities of their program and host country, and whether they are covered by the Bowdoin College plan, family insurance, program insurance, and optional supplementary insurance. Families may choose to maintain private insurance or purchase the study away program’s insurance in addition to the Bowdoin plan; in such cases, Bowdoin’s plan will be secondary to any other insurance plan.

Travel Guard WorldRisk Emergency Assistance

In case of an emergency, please refer here. In addition, the College issues all students, regardless of citizenship, a Travel Guard WorldRisk Assistance Card. This is not a physical card so much as a service and resource. If you are traveling abroad and experience an emergency, resources are available to assist you. Recommended steps are:

• Contact your local program/university;
• Contact your local police for immediate assistance;
• Students are to call AIG WorldRisk when they are traveling outside of the USA and Canada on a Bowdoin trip or study away program and they need help with services such as:
  • medical assistance and travel medical emergency services
  • legal assistance
  • lost baggage or lost passport
  • insurance coordination
  • medical or political or natural disaster evacuation

While overseas, you are subject to the laws of your host country, without the protections of American law and legal procedure. This applies to everything from drug possession and alcohol laws to currency exchanges, dress codes, drunk driving, and more, of which the penalties may be severe. If you are arrested, the U.S. Embassy (or that of your country, if you are not a U.S. citizen) can only notify your family and help arrange for legal representation within the laws of the host country. Your program and home college cannot extricate you.