‘An Intercultural Education’: One Physician Assistant’s Ongoing Mission in Morocco

How a volunteer trip abroad helped an MCPHS alum build bonds across borders.

When Erika Bolduc El Madi, MPH ’23, MPAS ’21, signed up for a student volunteer trip to Morocco, she couldn’t have predicted the profound effect it would have on her life. Not only did the experience shape her future career, but it also set the stage for a life-altering personal connection.

“I actually ended up meeting my husband there. He was a Moroccan student who spoke really good English and was interpreting for us. It’s impacted my life in so many ways,” Bolduc El Madi recalls.

Years after that pivotal journey as a physician assistant student at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS), Bolduc El Madi’s bond with Morocco has only deepened. Now working for the nonprofit that first brought her to the country, she’s returned numerous times to strengthen her connections with local communities, fellow volunteers, and new students eager to make a difference.

Bolduc El Madi’s early interest in volunteering abroad first surfaced in high school, when she traveled to Nicaragua on a service trip. The experience inspired her to seek out opportunities to help others in international settings, ultimately leading her to Morocco during her second year as an undergraduate at MCPHS.

“I was a very independent, very involved sort of kid,” Bolduc El Madi said.

A New Culture

In Morocco, Bolduc El Madi worked at a rural health clinic assisting with patient intake. To fulfill a scholarship requirement, she kept a blog documenting her experiences, from observing surgeries and shadowing doctors to connecting with Moroccan students, and sampling traditional foods. Through these interactions, she gained a deeper understanding of the country’s healthcare system and its challenges, including a national shortage of medical professionals. She said she also became captivated by the country’s natural beauty and its culture of hospitality, which left a lasting impression­—and sparked a love of international volunteering.

“After a trip like that, you leave on that high of knowing that you've helped people,” Bolduc El Madi said.

Going Further

Upon completing her MPAS, Bolduc El Madi said she wanted to volunteer abroad again to put her new skills to practice. Through Volunteer Morocco, she returned to the country, this time with a group of surgeons.

But even after that experience, she said she wanted a deeper level of involvement. Bolduc El Madi decided to pursue Master’s in Public Health, and when her program required an internship, another opportunity arose.

“I reached out to the owner and founder of Volunteer Morocco about interning for them. I had written a proposal with my thoughts on how I could contribute and be helpful. And he approved,” Bolduc El Madi said.

From then on, she worked 20 hours a week for Volunteer Morocco, balancing her internship with a full-time clinician role and her studies. As part of her internship, Bolduc El Madi helped to plan and organize trips. She also attended several trips as a chaperone for students.

“I was able to compare and contrast hospital culture in the two countries, and it helped inform me of a lot of the things that I wanted for my own practice in the future. There's a really good mesh of that when you get an intercultural education, especially as you're developing your skills as a provider,” Bolduc El Madi said.

A Lasting Impact

With her PA certification, Bolduc El Madi was able to take on a more active role during her trips, evaluating patients, prescribing medicines, and assisting in surgeries. Some of her tasks were things she wouldn’t have a chance to do back home, like delivering babies—which led to a memorable encounter later on.

“Last year while I was there visiting family, we had been visiting a clinic, and I was approached by a woman with two toddlers. The woman looked very familiar, and she said, ‘You delivered these babies!’ I had no idea that I had helped deliver her twins in a C-section a few years prior,” Bolduc El Madi said.

Since her first trip she took, Bolduc El Madi has traveled to Morocco seven more times. She has completed both her internship and her second master’s degree, and she holds a permanent position with Volunteer Morocco. Part of her job involves returning to MCPHS to answer questions during orientation for PA students preparing for similar trips.

“It's a really special opportunity to be able to share something that was so positive in my life, and encourage other people to do it, and hopefully they all have those positive experiences as well,” Bolduc El Madi said.