By Jessica Mussro, Program Assistant
Clemson Study Abroad
Studying abroad is an option open to all Clemson majors in learning environments across the globe. Among Clemson’s international programs led by faculty, those in the School of Nursing stand out not only because of their variety, but because of the School’s commitment to cultivating a cross-cultural perspective in their domestic and international work.
Echoing the School’s website welcome, professor Janice Lanham points out that minority populations and cultural diversity are on the rise in the United States. However, she notes that “many minority populations are disproportionately impacted by chronic health conditions exacerbated by a lack of health insurance, lack of access to health care, language barriers, behavioral and cultural risk factors.” In order to better serve these populations, Lanham continues, nurses must develop an understanding of cultural influences and implications within healthcare systems.
Professor Lanham leads students in a spring break experience in Eleuthera, Bahamas that is embedded as part of the community health nursing course. “Short term immersion experiences can provide a valuable opportunity for students to establish cultural competence,” Lanham points out.
The three abroad programs coordinated through the School of Nursing are all short-term experiences, a quality that attracted Clemson graduate Lindsey Maxwell, now an RN and still active in international medical missions. “It is hard to find the time in the nursing curriculum to fit in full-semester study abroad programs,” Lindsey reflects, “Dr. Amerson provided an outlet for those interested in international travel and medical work by forming the research program in Guatemala.” Dr. Roxanne Amerson began leading student groups to Guatemala in 2006, and her consequent research and service-learning projects in family health have been professionally recognized. Amerson’s 2012 Creative Inquiry team assisted with a NIH-funded grant to further health education in rural Guatemalan villages through local women leaders: promotoras.
“We spent the semester preparing our teaching materials, researching about the community we would be educating, and preparing for our trip,” Lindsey recalls. “All of the preparation paid off seeing the faces of the women at their graduation ceremony. It was a long and tedious week, but it was the most rewarding experience I have ever been a part of.”
International service-learning research demonstrates the positive impact of international experiences in cultural awareness, according to Dr. Amerson. The School’s graduate coordinator, Dr. Stephanie Davis, elaborates: “The international experience reinforces the notion that ‘community’ is not just the local area. Community is local, regional, national, and global and nurses have a responsibility to impact healthcare on all of these levels.”
Dr. Davis and Professor Lisa Duggan lead a spring break nursing program in the Dominican Republic, working with local healthcare providers. Participants in their program will present in this month’s International Service Learning and Research Colloquium. Come and learn more about these students and their work on March 28, in the Hendrix Center!
Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1E1IVxHAR841Zf5iVKt_8GIzy1eSn-lU0mLHJ2E0MF2s/viewform
