Pittsburg State University Nursing Students Experience

Location:
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Details:

By Barbara McClaskey, Phd, MN, RNC, Professor of Nursing at Pittsburg State University School of Nursing

Nursing students from Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, have traveled to Cuidad Juarez, Mexico over their semester break every year since 1998. The group travels to El Paso and then crosses into Juarez and walks to Hospital de la Familia.

Based on the U.S. Department of State Travel Alert issued in October 2008 and ongoing alerts and news reports regarding the violence along the U.S.–Mexico border, the faculty and students carefully considered the plans for the annual trip this past January. In each of the past two years it seemed possible that we might not be able to make the trip.

Prior to that first trip in 1998, we came in contact with personnel at the FEMAP Foundation in El Paso. The foundation facilitated arrangements with Hospital de la Familia. From the beginning of the experience, the faculty and students have been so well received by the hospital personnel that we have continued to make the annual trip. The trip was initiated because students and faculty had a desire to volunteer and help at a hospital that served the poor and where we felt like we could help in serving those in need.

Fund raising is done throughout the year to help pay for the trip, but individuals pay for a significant portion of the trip themselves.
Based on the reports of violent actions by the drug cartels and others it was clear that parts of Ciudad Juarez might not be safe. But actually we have always been aware that like any city with over a million people, certain parts of the city would not be safe after dark and some parts of the city would not be safe anytime.

However, the reports indicated the violence was much more prevalent this year. As one of the faculty members responsible for the well-being and safety of these students, I sought input from a variety of individuals in El Paso and in the U.S. legislature regarding the safety and how to best keep these students safe. The trip is totally voluntary. The students and their families were given a copy of the Travel Alert prior to making the trip and any students who had planned to participate could change their mind at any time without any implications whatsoever.

After much discussion and conscientious contemplation thirteen students and two faculty made the trip again in 2010. Back-up plans were made to assist at sites in El Paso if it appeared to not be safe to cross into Juarez on one of more of the days after we got to El Paso. This was truly one of our best experiences. We did go into Juarez and help at the hospital for several days without any incidence or signs of problems.

We also spent one day assisting at Lower Valley Housing in El Paso where we worked with professionals and family members in helping work on the building of homes. Helping the families work on their future homes was an excellent experience and was new for most of us. The professionals were very understanding of our varied skill levels and were great teachers.

However, the majority of the time we assisted at Hospital de La Familia in Ciudad Juarez where students helped care for infants in special care nurseries, newborns and new mothers after delivery, emergency room patients, and other patients at the hospital. Since many of us do not speak Spanish we do bring translators with us. Even though we do not speak the same language there is much we do understand and much we have in common. We understand that when we work together we can accomplish much.

We understand that regardless of the language we speak, all of us want to improve the health and well being of our patients. Whether at Hospital de la Familia or in a hospital in Kansas we strive to provide the best possible quality of care. I have great respect for the nurses, physicians, and staff at Hospital de la Familia. They may not have the same volume of supplies that we have at home, but they have the same desire for excellence and they have incredible resourcefulness, ingenuity, insight and ability to make the most of the equipment and supplies that they do have.

Bringing students to Hospital de la Familia has been an incredible experience for myself and these students. I have sincere appreciation for Anna Aleman, the FEMAP Foundation, Dr. Gustavo Martinez, Dr. Enrique Suarez, Nurse Carmen Ortiz, and all who make this experience possible.

We hope that we help the staff during our short week at the hospital, that we bring some needed supplies, and that we do some good. That is what we hope for – what I know is that we are better people, better nurses, better health care providers for being a part of this experience. We get additional patient care experiences during this week, but the experience is so much more than just additional days caring for patients.

We have a better understanding of some of the health care beliefs and practices of some of the people of Juarez which hopefully gives us a better understanding of the health care beliefs and practices of some of the Hispanic patients we will care for in our hospitals in and around Kansas. We learn first-hand that there are different ways of providing quality patient-focused care and that we need to remember to accommodate and respect those differences.