Standing
Undergraduate
Type of Proposal
Oral Presentation
Faculty
Faculty of Nursing
Faculty Sponsor
Dr. Heather Krohn
Proposal
This past summer three nursing students from the University of Windsor’s nursing program embarked on a life-changing journey to Chitokoloki Mission Hospital in Zambia for 5 weeks. During the trip the nursing students documented their experiences by writing a journal. The journal explores the students’ first-hand experiences in a culture that is vastly different to western culture. The journal outlines the differences in health care and defines the challenges faced by this population that they observed in their experiences. The students were also able to participate in the research being done on Schistosomiasis prevention and treatment in the local children. In the oral presentation anecdotes will be shared that are documented in the journal as well as visuals, such as pictures and videos to better enhance the presentation. The goal of this presentation is to share the experiences of the nursing students immersing themselves in and learning from a different culture with a specific view of primary health care, acute care and health research. During the trip they learned the importance of creating an understanding and openness with the people who are receiving care to develop a more therapeutic nurse-client relationship. The challenges and barriers experienced in making connections with the Zambian people and what was done to begin to overcome them will be explained. In addition, the nursing students will share how this has changed their perspective on health care and their outlook on life. They hope to benefit others by sharing these first-hand experiences and encourage others to reach out to vulnerable populations both in local communities and worldwide.
Grand Challenges
Viable, Healthy and Safe Communities
Special Considerations
The submission is mostly an oral presentation, however, it will include visuals to supplement the body of work that is an original composition.
Zambia 2018: A Memoir of Nursing Students on the Mission Field
This past summer three nursing students from the University of Windsor’s nursing program embarked on a life-changing journey to Chitokoloki Mission Hospital in Zambia for 5 weeks. During the trip the nursing students documented their experiences by writing a journal. The journal explores the students’ first-hand experiences in a culture that is vastly different to western culture. The journal outlines the differences in health care and defines the challenges faced by this population that they observed in their experiences. The students were also able to participate in the research being done on Schistosomiasis prevention and treatment in the local children. In the oral presentation anecdotes will be shared that are documented in the journal as well as visuals, such as pictures and videos to better enhance the presentation. The goal of this presentation is to share the experiences of the nursing students immersing themselves in and learning from a different culture with a specific view of primary health care, acute care and health research. During the trip they learned the importance of creating an understanding and openness with the people who are receiving care to develop a more therapeutic nurse-client relationship. The challenges and barriers experienced in making connections with the Zambian people and what was done to begin to overcome them will be explained. In addition, the nursing students will share how this has changed their perspective on health care and their outlook on life. They hope to benefit others by sharing these first-hand experiences and encourage others to reach out to vulnerable populations both in local communities and worldwide.