Authors

  1. Peterson, Cynthia PhD(c), MSN, RN

Article Content

Developing cultural humility among nurses is the first step toward advancing a nursing approach that embraces cultural differences and ensures delivery of culturally appropriate nursing care. Our global population is constantly changing due to immigration, natural disasters, wars, and displacement. Nursesmust be prepared to care for patients fromdiverse cultural and sociopolitical backgrounds. So, how can nurse educators and nursing programs successfully facilitate and support this type of learning? The possible avenues for nursing education in the global health setting are numerous: faculty-student exchanges, short- and long-term immersive experiences, and local experiences working with vulnerable populations such as refugee or indigenous communities. Cost burden, logistical coordination, and finding the right partnering organization are some of the most important considerations for faculty or student groups wishing to facilitate these learning opportunities. Service learning trips in global health settings can be integrated into existing curricula as an elective, cross-listed course, or lab section of a community health or global health course, which then will allow students to employ financial aid to cover some related costs of the trip. Another option for supporting this type of learning opportunity is to encourage the development of a student club/chapter of a partnering non-profit organization. Student leadership and extracurricular service learning in global health settings, though not formally part of the curriculum, can be a great first step to developing a global health learning opportunity at your institution. Short-termglobal health aid projects have the ability to profoundly change the way students and nurses practice by giving themexperienceworking with people fromdifferent cultures. This experience can be facilitated in as little as a 1-week service learning trip if organized in a thoughtful and intentional manner. The most vital component of this work is to partner with organizations that provide year-round follow-up care to patients and to incorporate the follow-up care in the ongoing conversation about sustainability in the health care and nonprofit sectors. If given the opportunity to volunteer or work in a global health setting, students and nurses alike are offered a new lens through which to view the world and their patients.

 

Acknowledgment

Thank you to our recent partnering organization, MEDLIFE, for coordinating a week-long mobile health clinic/service learning trip for Allied Health students at Vermont Technical College.