Faculty have identified community and global engagement as critical to the education
of nursing professionals. For the past two years, the UWG THS SON have traveled to
Quito Ecuador for study abroad experiences. These life-altering experiences exposed
students to third world poverty where residents have difficulty meeting basic needs
and suffer from malnutrition, water pollution and smoke inhalation.
During these study abroad experiences, our Nursing students taught health promotion
and disease prevention strategies. They worked with elderly patients and those with
disabilities. They administered to the medical needs of women, children and men with
a variety of ailments. The experience was a life-altering one and the entire team
learned about living in an unfamiliar culture while caring for over 100 patients each
day in the clinic.
UWG THS SON will continue to look for opportunities of global engagement to broaden
the experiences of our nursing students and serve our local and global communities.