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We are happy to announce the start of the BCCSON Global Health
Initiative, a student project that will allow undergraduate and graduate students to provide nursing service and health
education to residents of one of the poorest communities in Nicaragua.
Our goals are consistent with the philosophy of Boston College, a
Jesuit university dedicated to service to humanity. Although
service-oriented in nature, students will be able to earn course
credits or credit for supervised practice while carrying out a
humanitarian mission. It also meets the American Academy of Nursing’s
mandate to promote broader opportunities for a global focus and more
clinical experiences outside the U. S. Fashioned after a 10-year
clinical project in Ecuador, students report that this type of
experience changes their lives professionally and personally
The
project resulted from a Boston College sponsored educational immersion
trip to Nicaragua for faculty, staff and administrators. One of the
sites we visited was a neighborhood clinic in the community of Nueva
Vida in Ciudad Sandino, built originally for survivors of the 1972
earthquake and further populated in 1998 with families displaced by
Hurricane Mitch. The community lacks running water, sanitation
facilities, and electricity and there is much acute and chronic
illness, inadequate employment, and educational disadvantage. Our
practice site will be centered at this clinic and we plan to collect
medicine, clothes and school supplies for use in the community.
future
If we hope to meaningfully address the health needs of the people of Nueva Vida, we must establish a long-term relationship with the residents and particularly the promotoras, who are ultimately the ones who provide health teaching to the people of the community. We envision a program where needs are assessed, appropriate interventions are planned and implemented, and the impact is evaluated on a continuous basis.
We believe that the Global Health Initiative has many mutually beneficial outcomes. It can provide a sustainable health benefit to the people of Nueva Vida; the Boston College community can benefit from the interdisciplinary collaboration, and the students can gain cultural competence and an insight into global health issues that will be applicable in every aspect of their careers as nurses. The program also helps to meet an identified need in this country for nurses fluent in Spanish. Moreover, we are discussing ways to expand the program so that other students and nurses in practice may have a similar opportunity. However, as with most global immersion experiences, sustaining this project is costly, requiring students to engage in fundraising activities and faculty to seek continued outside support.