NEWS & EVENTS
University of Hong Kong Nursing Undergraduates visit FPB
Mingle with FPB faculty and students on third annual educational tour
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University of Hong Kong students, FPB Lecturer Ebony Hardee (far R), and Director of Youth Programs & Nursing Community Outreach Dennis Harris (L, back) with Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson (center) and City Council President Martin J. Sweeney |
For three weeks in March and April 2010, ten undergraduate nursing students from the University of Hong Kong School of Nursing visited FPB on an educational mission to learn about the American health care system and nursing. Their visit was coordinated by Associate Dean for the Undergraduate Program and Associate Professor Marilyn Lotas, PhD, RN and Samira Hussney, MPH, director of International Health Programs at FPB.
Kin Hei "Anthony" Chan , Tsz Yan "Jo-Jo" Cheung, Wing Yi "Kaness" Ching, Wun Kwan "Fioni" Ho, Ka Hung "Since" Kong, Ching Kwan "Ivy" Lo, Lai Mun "Bianca" Ngai, Hoi Man "Kay" Tang, Man Nok "Tammy" Wong, and Hiu Lam "Karen" Yeung all took part in classroom lectures and discussions as well as observations at various FPB clinical sites. Numerous FPB faculty members representing the fields of gerontology, pediatrics, mental health, and public health also participated to ensure the students were given direct insight into many of the inner workings of American nurses so they could compare and contrast them with their Chinese counterparts.
Participating faculty included Dr. Evanne Juratovac, who presented about elder care in the U.S. and developed the students' gerontology experiences throughout their visit; Dr. Jill Kilanowski, who discussed health disparities; Dr. Linda Lewin, who talked to them about child maltreatment; Dr. Diana Morris, who spoke about aging and mental health; and Dr. Marjorie Heinzer, who discussed pediatric obesity. Other faculty members also shared their work in their various areas of expertise. Dennis Harris, who is a liaison to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, was another participant.
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Undergraduate nursing students from the University of Hong Kong with Instructor Linda Boseman, MSN, APRN-BC during a clinical visit |
“The students were given an introduction to everything from public health nursing to health care finance and common pediatric problems,” says FPB Instructor Linda Boseman, MSN, APRN-BC, who provided them a lecture on common pediatric problems in the U.S. and compared American interventions and solutions with those in Hong Kong. “While here, they were able to observe various geriatric health care facilities, public health clinics, and public schools to see how nurses function and interact with real patients throughout the community.”
Bridging Cultural Gaps
In addition to the vast amount of clinical knowledge for the students to absorb, there were also plenty of opportunities for the students to explore many aspects of American and Cleveland culture. This included trips to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance Hall for a concert by the Cleveland Orchestra, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, and even City Hall for a special visit with various City Council members and Mayor Frank Jackson.
“All of them spoke of the appreciation they had for the quality of education that our own students receive here,” says Boseman, who also helped to plan and coordinate the visit. “They also were very impressed by the level of care provided to both our oldest citizens via geriatric care and our youngest in the newborn intensive care units. I think it was exciting for them to compare our two health care systems, especially when the universality of many nursing situations, despite cultural differences, was apparent.”
One special and touching example of the interpersonal bridges that all nurses around the world can appreciate occurred during a visit to an elder care center, where the Hong Kong students were introduced to a patient of Chinese descent. Although she had been living at the facility for many months, the elderly woman had never spoken to any of the staff and barely even made eye contact with them.
“But when she saw these student visitors come into the room, her face lit up,” says Boseman. “They began to speak to her in Cantonese, and then, for the first time, she herself began to talk. The staff was amazed, as they had never realized she still possessed this ability. This woman had a wonderful exchange with the students as they held her hand and laughed and talked with her. The care center staff was incredibly impressed, and the students left feeling that they had really brought a ray of sunshine into that woman's day.”
Boseman also observed the students’ responses to the notion of American nurses having direct impact on health care-related legislation.
“They marveled at the opportunities that our nurses have by lobbying and exercising their rights to vote,” she says.
This visit to FPB marked the third in three years from students of the University of Hong Kong. This ongoing education program is part of a nursing student exchange established for the mutual benefit of both institutions. In the works is setting up the University of Hong Kong as a permanent study abroad destination for undergraduate FPB students completing their senior-year Capstone service learning projects.
Posted April 27, 2010