Norton Sound Health Corporation

Norton Sound Health Corporation (NSHC) is a tribally owned and operated, independent, not-for profit health care organization, founded in 1970 to meet the health care needs of the Inupiat, Siberian Yup'ik and Yu'pik people of the Bering Strait region. NSHC is governed by a 24-member board of directors who represent all communities and areas of the Bering Strait region, a 44,000 square-mile section of northwestern Alaska.

• Learn more about Norton Sound Health Corporation

Fun Things to Do in Nome

• Walk on the beach and collect "beach glass"
• Attend the Blueberry Festival
• Unwind at the Bering Tea, Co.
• Eat at Milano's Pizza, Polar Cafe, or the local Subway & Movie Theater
• Experience salmon fishing
• Explore by bike
• Visit the Nome Museum
• Hike up Anvil Mountain
• Play BINGO with the locals

Tips from Previous Students

• Your phone will work in Nome but not in the villages
• The hospital will give you a laptop to take with to the villages and it will connect to the clinic wifi.
• You'll be busy! Get as much schoolwork done ahead of time as you can.
• Ship your food 6-weeks prior to leaving. Walmart is expensive!
• Be flexible and adventurous.
• Visit the Nome Museum
• You will learn so much about the Inupiaq and Yup’ik cultures as well as what it means to be a rural medicine provider.
• You will be surrounded by unique wildlife, and some of the most beautiful and untouched landscapes imaginable.

Student Impact

• Increased confidence
• Greater appreciation for patient education
• Understanding of cultural differences & approaches to healthcare
• Deeper critical thinking skills & flexibility
• Opportunity to work interprofessionally with an underserved population