When the question of “who would be interested in a trip to Haiti” was presented to the second year nursing students, over half the class put their hands up. At the first informational meeting a few weeks later, 16 students were there with questions. Over the next couple of months that group of 16 gradually decreased to four students who thought they could actually make it work with school, work and their families. The four students are pictured below. L to R: Tricia Ploessl, KayDee Maxwell, Jessica Koerwitz and Katelyn Schaefer.
As a nursing instructor I’ve read many Journal articles on the pros and cons of short term study abroad courses for nursing students. The focus of ADN students are safe practice and technical skill and the knowledge of specialty areas such as community health, obstetrics or mental health is much abbreviated for ADN students. Study abroad programs have been mainly for BSN students.
Studying abroad has been linked to increased cultural awareness for students and from personal experience with short term medical mission trips I know firsthand the benefits of experiences such as this, no matter the duration. Mark Twain said, “Travel is fatal to bigotry, prejudice and narrow-mindedness. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of people and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the Earth.”
Traveling to third world countries to study abroad is an emotional journey as well as an educational journey. Students will experience shock and surprise at the poverty level they will encounter. Fear for personal safety. Frustration at the language difficulties and the inability to help as we think we should.
While the main goal of exposing students to a third world country would be what they can learn from an educational stand point, there is a much larger lesson that books or instructors cannot teach. That lesson is of empathy and the knowledge that nurses can make a difference no matter where they serve.
International experiences are excellent opportunities for nursing students to learn about human rights, social actions and the global community while learning about shared human experiences.
Over the next couple of weeks the nursing students involved in our first study abroad trip will discuss their experience of the trip, from their decision to go, preparing for the trip and then their daily experiences during the trip.
I’m also looking at volunteering in Haiti. I’d love to hear some of the experiences you had, where you went and the interactions you had with locals. Can I find more posts about the trip here?