When choosing between attending classes or going on a humanitarian aid trip to the Dominican Republic, the choice for William Carmichael was easy.

Carmichael is the president of Project World Health (PWH), a student organization that goes on humanitarian trips to provide medical care for underserved communities around the world.

This year’s trip to the Dominican Republic is set for March 1, just over two weeks from USF’s spring break, meaning the group will have to skip classes to participate.

“It wasn’t really a choice for us,” said Carmichael, a sophomore medical student. “We all were perfectly fine with that and will make up the work when we have to because we really wouldn’t want to miss this.”

During the trip, PWH members provide medical assistance to locals. The students offer primary care, medications, hygiene products, patient education, dental care and more.

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The organization was created in 1991 by two students, Julie Jacobson and Sigrid Johnson. But the annual trip to the Dominican Republic wasn’t always part of the group’s mission. 

It started as an initiative to raise money to purchase medicine and supplies that could be sent to areas in need. 

The group also visited other countries, such as Colombia, Haiti, Honduras and Cuba, before establishing the annual Dominican Republic trip in 2000.

PWH is completely student-funded, with all donations and fundraising efforts driven by students. They collaborate with the USF Health Taneja College of Pharmacy to source and ship medications to the Dominican Republic. 

Carmichael said last year was his first time going to the organization’s annual trip, but he already knows he wants to return every year until he graduates.

“It’s so much different than what you expect and it’s so powerful that when you get there everyone already wants to come back,” Carmichael said. “We had an amazing time and were able to make a lot of memories, so I can’t wait for this year’s trip.”

This year’s trip will be weeklong. Students handle every aspect of trip logistics, from coordinating flights to organizing clinic operations. 

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Chloe Chose, one of PWH’s fundraising chairs and a USF medical student, said she knew healthcare access varied across the world, but seeing those differences firsthand was “life-changing.”

“There was a little girl who needed glasses, and we provided glasses,” Chose said. “Getting to interact with people through the progression on the trip, I felt that was really powerful.”

Last year, they took computer donations and created a computer lab at a school in an underserved area.

Dr. Eduardo Gonzalez, director of the Department of Family Medicine at USF’s Morsani College of Medicine, said they created a computer lab for a small school in 2024 and are working on doing similar projects in the future.

“Though we may only go once a year in person, we remain committed to the communities we serve, providing sustainable care and assistance,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez estimated over 1,500 students have participated since the organization was founded. He said PWH could not exist without students.

Gonzalez said the students treat anyone who shows up. The students also decide where to place their clinic, whether that be a house, school, church or field.

In addition to students, PWH also brings all kinds of doctors on the trip, from dentists to ophthalmologists, Gonzalez said.

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Dr. Hugo Javier Narvarte, PWH’s faculty adviser, said the organization has a “great long-standing” relationship with locals in the Dominican Republic. 

The pandemic prevented them from going on the annual trip until 2023. Instead, students continued to donate medical supplies to clinics, schools and hospitals.

Navarte said it was upsetting to miss the tradition, but getting to go back has been good. 

“But it’s been gratifying to go again and take a fresh look at things,” said Navarte, who is also a USF associate professor in the College of Medicine Pediatrics and a former PWH president.

Narvarte said although student volunteers are used to working in “state-of-the-art” clinics, it is important to learn how to treat patients without using the newest technology.

“That’s not really how most of the world gets medical care,” Narvarte said. “It makes it immediately evident, and it makes you grateful for what we have.”

Narvarte said seeing students gaining confidence during the trips reminds him of why he became a doctor, and he gets “blown away” by his students’ success.

“I think we get more out of it than the patients do,” Narvarte said. 

Carmichael said the trip completely changed the way he viewed global health.

“Just coming in, putting up tents and providing medicine… to see the good we are able to do with just a student-run organization is something that’s really inspirational to me,” Carmichael said.