UMSN Shares Global Health Perspectives with U-M Parents

Joint student-faculty presentation highlighted at a recent Parent and Family Leadership Council Meeting.

“Working in the Ecuadorian health care system was an experience that enhanced my professional skills and gave me a better understanding of culturally competent care,” recent University of Michigan School of Nursing (UMSN) graduate Maria Nguyen told members of the Parent and Family Leadership Council in late October. Each year, members of the council are invited to campus to learn about the newest and most interesting activities on and beyond campus.

“It really helped me understand how health care policy and delivery impact care in different cultures in different ways,” Nguyen said of the June 2014 trip. She was one of six UMSN students, along with five Literature, Science and the Arts (LSA) students, who spent more than two weeks working in community health clinics and learning about health care in Ecuador. “I also saw how language barriers can really hinder patient care,” said Nguyen. “The experience made me want to improve my own Spanish speaking skills to be able to better care for Spanish-speaking people here in the U.S.”

Only four U-M units present at each council meeting, and this was the first year for UMSN. “The presentation to the Parent Advisory Council was a wonderful opportunity to share with parents the importance of study abroad opportunities for students,” says UMSN Clinical Instructor Norma Sarkar, MPH, RN, who led the trip to Ecuador with Clinical Instructor Megan Eagle, MSN, FNP-BC. “Having the students, both Nursing and LSA, share the impact of their experience in Quito, Ecuador, with the parents was an effective way to demonstrate why funding for study abroad is so important to the Michigan experience," said Sarkar.

“The presentation also provided exposure to the important global health work that is being done by the School of Nursing,” she added. “Many times nursing is only associated with the acute care setting so it is important to be able to showcase our efforts to incorporate global health experiences into our undergraduate program.”

There will be another opportunity for interested students to visit Ecuador in 2014. It is also open to non-nursing students.

The other presenters included the student computing group MPowered, LSA Associate Dean Phil Deloria discussing the course he teaches at U-M's Camp Davis in Wyoming, and student athlete Brandi Virgil sharing her experience balancing the demands of the classroom and softball field.