Title: Expanding the world: Public and global health experiences for undergraduate nursing students

Abstract:

Nurse educators have the challenge of training future nurses that will provide compassionate care to an increasingly diverse population of patients in a culturally sensitive way. It is in the interest of educators, current nurses, healthcare team members, and patients to find innovative ways to cultivate cultural awareness in these future nurses. One approach to this challenge is an immersive public and global health experience as part of the nursing program curriculum. Undergraduate nursing students at our institution are required to participate in a Public and Global Health course. They participate in a didactic preparatory course followed by a 3-to-4-week program in one the following locations: The Czech Republic, Ecuador, Finland/Poland, Ghana, India, Spain, Taiwan, Tonga, an Honor Flight to Washington D.C. with Veterans, or in local (Utah) communities working with marginalized populations (including incarcerated individuals, refugees, etc). The students are required to complete 84 clinical hours and 84 culture hours (which involve exposure to local history, art, architecture, customs, etc). As Faculty, we feel strongly that these public and global health experiences help cultivate cultural awareness in our students and prepare nurses who are better prepared to serve a diverse population of patients throughout their careers. This presentation will highlight our experiences and provide ideas for other nurse educators who have an interest in developing similar programs in their schools but do not know where to start. Suggestions about how to start building relationships that can lead to these opportunities along with logistics for continuing the programs will be highlighted. In alignment with the goals of the conference, insights about healthcare delivery systems in global health and current trends in nursing practice around the world will also be shared.

Audience Take Away Notes:

• Nursing educators will receive a perspective regarding the value of a public and global health immersive experience
• Nursing educators will be given practical ideas on how to organize public and global health experiences for students
• Current nurses will learn more about healthcare delivery systems in areas around the world and current trends in nursing practice that may provide insight into their own practice and healthcare system
• This presentation will prompt dialogue among current nurses about innovative ways to prepare future nurses to care for increasingly diverse population of patients in a culturally sensitive way

Biography:

Kristen Erekson earned a BSN (2008) and MSN (2011) from Johns Hopkins University. She practiced as a Nurse Practitioner in Pediatric Primary Care for 11 years. She currently works as an Assistant Teaching Professor in the College of Nursing at Brigham Young University. She volunteered as an RN on the USNS Mercy hospital ship in Timor Leste in 2010. She has worked as a volunteer for over five years at the Volunteer Care Clinic, a free community clinic in Utah. She teaches a Public and Global Health course and leads students on their international study abroad experiences, primarily to Spain.
Sarah Spendlove Caswell earned a BSN (2001) from Brigham Young University and an MSN (2015) from University of California at Los Angeles. She has worked in various adult ICUs in Washington D.C. and Los Angeles, CA as an RN and has practiced in Neurocritical Care as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner starting in 2008. She currently works as an Assistant Teaching Professor at Brigham Young University. She teaches ICU nursing, supervises ICU clinical rotations, and teaches Public and Global Health Nursing. As part of Public and Global Health Nursing, she leads students on international study abroad trips, primarily to Ecuador.