The College of Nursing’s Honduras mission will have its tenth evolution in March 2009. The project has expanded from a small trip of three people and a community assessment to a full-fledged health care mission to the people of Honduras. The mission works with a large non-governmental organization (NGO) as well as the College of Nursing to assure a productive, safe hands-on experience.
There are two major sites for our mission. The first is working with the residents of the municipal dump in Tegucigalpa, the capital city. In the clinic that is held in a two-room school house, patients are seen for a variety of health concerns, as well as for annual well-women examinations. If indicated, appropriate referrals are made to the local public health system for further treatment.
The second part of the trip takes place in Choluteca, which is in the southwestern part of the country. Unlike northern Honduras, Choluteca is a desert-like environment that has still to recover fully from the ravages of Hurricane Mitch. Here we have students who work in the local hospital modeling appropriate nursing care, and our nurse midwifery students deliver babies under the supervision of our expert certified nurse midwifery faculty. In addition, our students present in-service education for the hospital staff, including training in CPR and standard infection precautions.
Our primary care master’s students have the opportunity to hold clinics at several sites in Choluteca and some of the surrounding communities where health care is minimally accessible. Some of the undergraduate students accompany this group to perform intake assessment, diabetes screening, hypertension screening, and childhood assessment. As patients who need further care are identified, referrals are made to a local Honduran physician who has worked with the group for several years. Interpreters from the local international school work with us to provide translations for providers who do not speak Spanish.
In addition, all of the members of the group provide health promotion posters in Spanish for the health fairs that are held at a local church and a local university. These health fairs are well received by many people.
Our resident contact in Honduras is Angie Overholt, MS, CFNP, who is a graduate of both our RN to BSN and Master’s degree program. She is the only certified nurse practitioner in Honduras.
Requirements for participation in the trip, which is generally held during finals week of the winter quarter:
• Junior or senior nursing student in good academic standing
• Second or third year Graduate Entry student in family, adult, or pediatric specialty
• Master’s student in the same set of specialties
(It is highly recommended that the NP students be in their N859 rotations to have maximum benefit from the trip)
• A positive reference from a faculty person who has supervised one of their clinical courses
Application is made in November and final decisions are made by early December. Students are responsible for the cost of the trip, typically around $1,500. They must attend an orientation session and packing day before we travel. Students are required to have current immunizations and have malaria prophylaxis for the trip. Students should not have any medical or emotional conditions that will require special care during the trip. Students should be able to tolerate dust, heat, travel over the mountains in a school bus, and living conditions that are not luxurious.
The faculty selection committee reserves the right to make selection of the student participants. All participants are required to pass a background check and purchase travel insurance from The Ohio State University.
Students are responsible for negotiating with their instructors about completing the finals that are scheduled during the Honduras trip week. All participants are required to sign a mission agreement statement with the supporting NGO.
The point of contact for the Honduran mission at the College of Nursing is Dr. Elizabeth Barker, barker.203@osu.edu.
|
|
“From the moment I stepped off the plane from Honduras, I knew that I had just experienced an amazing opening to a long career of serving those truly in need. The trip affirmed my desire to work with underserved populations.”
—Sarah DiRamio
|
|