Nursing immersion in Guatemala

Nursing immersion in Guatemala

Nine students and two faculty members in the Nursing 4220 Perspectives in International Community Health Care course spent three weeks in Guatemala.

"This course was begun by Dr. Kim Larson about 15 years ago," said College of Nursing faculty member Terri Joyner. "This year's group consisted of nursing students, but in the past we've had pre-med majors, public health majors, and Spanish majors."

While in Guatemala, the students took four-hour Spanish classes for five days a week at La Union Spanish School in Antigua. Working with La Union, they also taught a series of health-related "charlas" - informal discussions or classes - to residents on topics ranging from proper hygiene to nutrition. The students also helped out at the Casa Jackson Hospital for Malnourished Children.

"The cultural immersion is important for our students," said Joyner. "We know we need nurses that speak Spanish and it's important for our nurses to learn how to take care of people from other cultures and improve their abilities."

The experience for the students proved to be quite powerful.

"I've always known that I want to be a nurse in a rural area and especially have the opportunity to go to a third-world country," said Olivia Thill. "Originally it was going to be full-time or part- time. Now I know more about that experience and how life-changing it was, and it affirms that goal."

"It was eye-opening to see how valuable we were within those three weeks," said Chloe Allen. "Seeing the impact that we made and knowing that we made an impact in a country that doesn't have what we have here is very enlightening and empowering."

Thill found that the Guatemalan residents benefitted as much from the nursing student visit as the students did from their visit to the Central American country.

"We got to see how the lives of the children were changed because they had the opportunity to come to a clinic that didn't have before," she said. "We had parents tell us, 'Thank you so much for doing this. I have answers now that I didn't have beforehand.' It was heartwarming to know that we were able to do that."

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