SON: Connections - Spring 2003

Headlines | Briefly | From the Deans Desk

Preparing Students to be Citizens of a Changing World

A Guatemalan mother and her child.

The School of Nursing is a leader in establishing international experiences for faculty and students. Founded in 1990 and funded by private donors, the school's Citizens of the World Program provides assistance to students wishing to study abroad amid cultures and health care systems very different from their own. The program's goal is to prepare nurses to address the unique and changing needs of Third World countries with skills that include sensitivity, appreciation and an understanding of health disparities. International health projects involve family planning, midwifery, vaccinations, HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. The knowledge gained in this program has led to a keen and increasing awareness of health and illness among the world's people and the potential to improve global health in a changing world.

Comments From the Field

"I have been a nurse for 20 years, and worked in critical care units for 12. My trip to Guatemala marked the beginning of my dissertation research focusing on health outcomes of poor women who use microcredit loans to launch income-generating projects. I fully immersed myself into the Spanish language and local culture. I left the country with a clearer vision and better understanding of the people: My goal is to work in a country with a local organization that provides loans to women."
- Rebekah Salt, R.N., M.N.

"Every week day while we were in San Lucas, we took a pickup truck to small farms to do prenatal checks. The women were very welcoming and we learned a great deal about midwifery. Smaller groups of students also spent time in the parish clinic making rounds with the nurse, observing Dr. Tun (the local Mayan medical doctor), and assisting in childbirth."
- Kori Dewing, R.N.

"I will be working at Coast Provincial General Hospital in Mombassa, Kenya-in both the Maternal Child Health ward and in the HIV/AIDS clinic. I will also be studying Swahili with the goal of working in Kenya after I graduate. I want to use my skills to develop community programs that effectively prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. I also hope to work at the policy level to advocate for increased international aid to help countries that continue to be devastated by HIV/AIDS."
- Lauren Towne, M.N., M.P.H.

"A pediatric nurse practitioner for the past 29 years, I have developed a research interest in women's biological vulnerability to mood disorders while transitioning from pregnancy to post-birth, and the effects on infants and children. I have become particularly interested in discovering whether maternal support in other cultures helps to mitigate these vulnerabilities, particularly in Eastern cultures. My trip to Thailand will give me the opportunity to study maternal support of Thai women during pregnancy, birth and postpartum, and contrast their experience with that of American women."
- Sandra Jolley, M.S., Ph.C., A.R.N.P.

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