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Fifteen graduate and undergraduate nursing students experienced nursing in Peru first-hand during a weeklong, study-abroad program in October. Participants did clinical rotations in surgery, public health, and obstetrics. They also visited the schools of nursing and midwifery at the Universidad San Martín de Porres in Lima.
The students partnered with Peruvian peers at an immunization clinic and observed health promotion efforts to educate residents of a "pueblo joven" about basic hygiene, violence against women, and prenatal care.
"We saw excellent care being delivered, even in very poor areas," says Linda Halcón, PhD, MPH, RN, associate professor and interim director of International Programming. "Peruvian nurses are identifying public health problems and addressing them in a holistic way."
Phenomenal care
"The level of care was phenomenal," says Josh del Villar, a junior in the BSN program. Ann Seguin, a student in the master of nursing program, agrees. "It was really an excellent opportunity to start putting into practice what we have learned about transcultural nursing," she says.
Theresa Jarvis, a student in the master’s program in nurse midwifery, found it "empowering" to see nurses take on challenges of working with few resources and overcoming them.
Learning from their hosts
BSN senior Ashley Theisen was exhilarated by her Peruvian experience. "It further ignited my passion for global health and reminded me of why I went into the health profession: to care for those that are sick, especially those in dire need," she says.
Theisen had already experienced health care overseas through her missionary work, but this experience was different. "Instead of coming into their country and setting up a clinic, we went into their clinics and learned their approach and their system," she says.
An annual opportunity
The trip was part of an exchange program with the Universidad San Martín de Porres arranged by Dean Connie Delaney, in collaboration with Hilda Bacca, dean of the School of Nursing and Midwifery, San Martin de Porress. "We hope this exchange will be an annual opportunity for our students," Halcón says. She notes that the school expects to host a Peruvian delegation sometime this year.
Melissa Avery, PhD, RN, CNM, FACNM, FAAN, associate professor and chair, Child and Family Health Cooperative, says she hopes the program can be expanded to include scholarly exchanges on research projects and publications. |
