The Faces of International Nursing

         Many of us who belong to Nursing Students for Global Health (NSGH) are in the group because we’re interested in working abroad; however, we’re not so sure what that entails. Although some of us have prior employment experience, we’ve spent - at the very least - the past few months immersed in school.  At the moment, the world outside of NYU nursing school is foreign and somewhat of a mystery; from figuring out the logistics of applying for jobs to knowing what we have to offer domestically or globally, thinking on a larger scale can seem even more overwhelming.  On October 1, NSGH hosted an event titled “The Faces of International Nursing” that offered a glimpse into the life of three different global health nurses, providing us all with information that a classroom might not necessarily offer.

            The first speaker, Deborah Chyun, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN spoke about her time in two very different parts of the world – Rwanda and Georgia.  Since the 1994 genocide, Rwanda’s health care system underwent a massive overhaul, now offering universal, quality health care to all its citizens, from the poorest to the richest one.  With all these changes, Rwanda continues to lack a skilled nursing force and so, Dr. Chyun has worked with Human Resources for Health to train future nurses and provide the foundation for a sustainable healthcare system. Dr. Chyun reported that she lived in Rwanda for a year and that salaries for herself or others in her position ranged from $60-$80k with additional stipends being provided for living expenses and family members. 

            In addition to working in Rwanda, Dr. Chyun also briefly spoke about her time in Georgia, a country that faces its own healthcare challenges.  Georgia is slightly smaller than South Carolina and has a population of nearly 4.5 million people with rural doctor/nurse being the primary mode of health care delivery.  There, Dr. Chyun worked with Georgian students to help determine what was lacking in current medical and nursing practice in order to inform future health policy.

            The next speaker, Ella Harris, BA, MS, RN, spoke about her time at a public hospital in Roatan, Honduras. Nurse Harris was there through a program with the Universityof California, San Francisco and Global Healing to determine how best to improve nursing education. Nurse Harris described the hospital in Roatan as a Labor and Deliver Hospital by necessity, with 57% of the admissions being obstetrics, pediatric and neonatal admissions. Working closely with the auxiliary RNs – few had bachelors – Nurse Harris saw first-hand the systemic issues that plagued the hospital. From sparse medical supplies to relying on still water from a warm, blue plastic barrel to administering medications without going through all the proper checks, the resources were extremely limited and the practices, risky. Regardless, the nurses at Roatan were doing their best with what they had.

            Nurse Harris reported that one day she noticed that many of the nurses and students there had access to smart phones and wondered how they could use that to their advantage. In collaboration with the nurses at Roatan, Nurse Harris and her colleague began to make training videos regarding different nursing practices that could be viewed on smart phones.  Effective it was but without patience, listening or remaining open-minded, Nurse Harris reminded us that this idea would not have come into fruition.  Nurse Harris left us with this advice, “Ultimately, lasting relationships transform practice.”

            Last but certainly not least was Robin Toft Klar, DNSc, RN. Nurse Klar spoke extensively about her time researching infant mortality in Ghana and later, lymphatic filariasis in Papua, New Guinea. What I found most fascinating about Nurse Klar’s piece was her inspiration for traveling to Ghana. Nurse Klar journeyed a continent away to learn more about infant mortality in the town she was working in – Worcester, MA. Nurse Klar worked in Pokuase, Ghana, with a microlending non-governmental organization (NGO) that aimed to increase healthcare and education for all women. There, she learned more about how women keep themselves well, the perception of hospitals in Ghanaian society and when it was optimal to schedule visits. By learning about Ghanaian traditions firsthand, Nurse Klar was able to better serve women in her hometown.

            Nurse Klar’s second foray into global health wasn’t so accidental; she was approached by the Global Health Research Expanding Advanced Training (GhREAT) to conduct research in Papua, New Guinea. Nurse Klar briefly spoke about how working with an anthropologist, a mathematician and an entomologist on how to best treat and self manage lympathic filariasis, a disease she compared to elephantiasis, was a fascinating experience and wouldn’t have happened had it not been for her travels to Ghana.

         The event was a hit and with a turn out of over 50 students throughout the evening, I’m certain many of us left on a global health high. We got a taste of what nurses who work abroad do; be it policy level work, interacting with patients at a public hospital or conducting research, the options are endless.  And I left the evening and now, you, with this Zen-like lesson – to be effective in this world, we need to temper our enthusiasm and desire to help with patience, compassion and the ability to listen.

Contact Info:

Deborah Chyun, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN

Dc116@nyu.edu

Ella Harris, MS, RN

Ella.Harris@gmail.com

Robin Toft Klar, DNSc, RN

Rtk3@nyu.edu

Did you attend The Faces of International Nursing? Have more questions about Global Health Nursing? Let us know below!