Peru

Country Lead Faculty: Allison Huffman, PhD

The Center for Global Nursing took its fourth group of students to Peru in May 2019. The cohort included 18 undergraduate, master’s and doctoral-level students and five faculty (Allison Huffman, co-lead Lindz Peck, and Chin-Nu Lin, PhD, Angeles Nava, PhD, and Pamela Gonzales, PhD).

Over 11 days, the group completed an activity-filled schedule, starting off in Lima with scholarly presentations at the Universidad Norbert Weiner (UNW) and Universidad Maria Auxiliadora (UMA). The students demonstrated the culmination of their PICO research project work at the conferences and made excellent presentations, while faculty and doctoral candidates gave podium presentations on different topics relevant to the conference ranging from patient communication to interprofessional simulation.

Students also visited a girl’s orphanage in an impoverished area around Lima to teach the girls about women’s health issues through a pad project and cycle bead teaching. After taking in the culture in Lima, the group headed to Cusco and the Sacred Valley, where the students participated in clinical activities at a local hospital and a rural clinic and visited a boys home for health teaching presentations. The boys and teachers were very engaged during topics such as CPR and healthy eating. All also really enjoyed the big soccer match that everyone engaged in that day.

The trip ended with cultural tours of the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, sites that never cease to inspire awe and admiration in everyone. Health Bridges International was a tremendous help and support along with the assistance and hospitality from our friends and colleagues at UMA and UNW. Muchas gracias for another amazing and fabulous trip!

Background

The TWU Center for Global Nursing – Peru relationship began in February 2014 with correspondence between Joan Edwards, PhD, our CGN director, and Patrick Palmieri, PhD, a nursing professional living in Peru.

In Summer 2014, Dr. Edwards embarked on a fact-finding mission to Lima and Chiclayo, Peru, under the auspices of Dr. Palmieri, where she attended an international nursing conference with keynote speaker Patricia Benner, PhD, and further developed plans for collaborative activities between several universities and a woman’s hospital, Clinica Santa Isabel.

Planning continued through the remainder of the 2014 academic year with Sandy Cesario, PhD, and Dr. Huffman developing Peruvian graduate and undergraduate educational abroad elective courses for May 2015. Part of the course syllabi involved the development of a student group PICO (Patient, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome) format research project with guidance from course faculty the spring prior to the trip. A PICO poster was created and shared at conferences and health care facilities throughout the trip. Twenty-four undergraduate students and two graduate nursing students went on the first trip, with subsequent trips in May 2016, May 2017 and May 2019.

Course trips include a community learning aspect where students and faculty participate in clinics like the Clinical Santa Isabel in Lima and tour public and private hospitals throughout Lima and Chiclayo. To promote service, an outreach project is completed during the trips where students teach adolescent girls in secondary schools and women’s shelter about the menstrual cycle. In 2017, outreach included visiting an orphanage in a rural area where the students taught about health topics. In addition to a healthcare focus, the Peruvian Education Abroad trips include a cultural focus with the development of Spanish language skills and knowledge of Peruvian culture and historical sites, which culminate in a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage site Machu Picchu at the end of each trip.

CGN plans to continue its annual education abroad trip to Peru and is working currently on extending our involvement with Peruvian nursing professionals by collaborating in research and teaching projects within the country.

Page last updated 4:04 PM, September 9, 2019