Global Impact
Students and Faculty Grow Through Global Initiatives
Global experiences, including international exchange programs and service-based trips, provide students and faculty with once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to provide patient care to populations in need all around the world. These experiences will also prepare students for the vast array of challenges they may experience throughout their career. The School is now providing a variety of global learning experiences for its students.
Guatemala
Through ER Abroad Mission Impossible, Deborah Horton traveled to Antigua, Guatemala, earning clinical hours toward her master's in the family nurse practitioner program. There, she saw diseases in advanced stages that are rarely seen in the United States.
"The diverse clinical experiences greatly enhanced my assessment skills," Horton said. "I learned about the culture and lifestyle of the local population and how to teach them to prevent disease and injuries."
Haiti
Valerie Griffin, DNP, assistant clinical professor, and Chontay McKay, FNP-BC, lecturer, traveled to Haiti separately with medical mission teams to set the groundwork for future faculty-led medical mission trips for students in the family nurse practitioner (FNP) program.
"Global missions will allow FNP students at SIUE to have a unique and interprofessional clinical experience," Griffin added. "Through global leadership, students learn service, diversity and compassion for undeserved populations."
Costa Rica
The Schools of Nursing; Education, Health and Human Behavior; Dental Medicine, and the Office of International Affairs are partnering with Central American Mission Projects to create new opportunities for global student experiences. Faculty and students will provide health screenings, health education and dental care.
"It is our goal to enrich students' learning and expand our reach in new, incredible ways," said Laura Bernaix, PhD, dean of the School of Nursing. "We don't want to limit our impact on health to only this region, so providing health screenings in Costa Rica offers tremendous opportunities for our students."
Australia
Beginning fall 2018, Nursing students have the opportunity to participate in a newly developed student exchange program with Holmesglen Institute in Melbourne, Australia. Two SIUE students will visit Holmesglen for two weeks in July. In turn, two Holmesglen students will visit SIUE for two weeks in late October.
"Students in the program will visit classes, attend clinicals at a variety of agencies, and observe clinical practices of multiple healthcare providers, all with the goal of comparing and contrasting differences and similarities in healthcare delivery models, healthcare systems, and provider roles and scope of practice," Bernaix said.
To support students' academic and personal growth through the Global Experience initiative, visit our Giving website.
