SIUE SON Graduates Leave Transformed by Global Service Experiences
Transformative, amazing, gracious and fortunate were among the words used by four Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Nursing (SON) graduates as they recalled the global service trips they participated in during the fall 2017 semester.
Having earned their master’s of science with a family nurse practitioner specialization during SIUE’s December commencement ceremony, the students are entering the healthcare field equipped with not only extensive academic knowledge and strong clinical skills, but also a global perspective and deep passion for humankind.
Myndee Camerer, Marissa Collier and Greg Jennings traveled to Guatemala during Oct. 3-11 with Bernadette Sobczak, instructor of family health and community health nursing. Lorilee Sebesta spent Oct. 25-29 in Haiti, along with Valerie Griffin, DNP, assistant clinical professor of family health and community health nursing.
“My view of what I do will never be the same,” said Sebesta, a native of Burnet, Texas. “How I look at the people I take care of and how I feel about what I do is much deeper, more cultured, more accepting, and because of that—better.”
“People are the same at the heart of it all, no matter where you sit on the globe,” she added. “Helping the Haitian people, who are in such dire need and show great appreciation, is one of the things I am most proud of in my life. I am forever changed for the good, and will carry the lessons, values and culture with me everywhere I go.”
Sebesta completed 40 clinical hours during her service trip in Haiti. While there, she and Griffin provided care for both children and adults, including patients with hypertension, skin issues, diabetes, cough, hygiene issues, malnutrition and those needing topical fluoride therapy.
Griffin laid the foundation for the SIUE SON to take students on service trips when she traveled to Haiti last year. She is passionate about the transformative changes students experience while providing care outside of the U.S.
“Taking students on these trips gets them out of their comfort zones,” Griffin explained. “There are limited resources in these countries, so the students must interact and provide care in a diverse clinical setting. In Haiti, for example, they’re working off a wooden bench and assessing with a stethoscope, thermometer and otoscope. There’s no insulin, because they don’t have electricity. Chest x-rays are not an option to confirm a pneumonia diagnosis.”
“This experience opened my eyes to global care and how much more we can do both in the United States and across the globe, to ensure people receive the medical care they need, when they need it,” said Jennings, a Joliet native.
Those who traveled to Guatemala completed 70 clinical hours, caring for approximately 135 patients a day.
“This was the perfect opportunity to provide service to those in need and use my new knowledge as a nurse practitioner,” explained Collier, of Springfield. “It was a good transition from being a student to a more independent provider, while still being in a controlled environment, and having support and supervision from other providers.”
According to Sobczak, in Guatemala, they took health histories, performed physical assessment, diagnosed acute and chronic illnesses, provided treatments, and prescribed and dispensed medications. They provided care for infections, parasitic diseases and waterborne illnesses, among other complex cases of chronic conditions that had gone untreated or undertreated for some time.
“I love pediatrics, and I love to teach future nurse practitioners how to be better providers of pediatric healthcare,” Sobczak said. “Guatemalans want what we all want for our children: health and happiness. We had people walk great distances in the mountains to get care.”
Continuity of care is hugely important to those involved in service trips. Sebesta has already booked a medical service trip to Haiti. Griffin is slated to go back next fall. Meanwhile, Collier is traveling back to Guatemala for a service trip in April.
Additionally, Griffin, three other SON faculty, and SIUE Chancellor Randy Pembrook will visit Costa Rica in March 2018, along with 13 undergraduate nursing students from the SON. Their service trip is in conjunction with CAMP (Central American Mission Projects), which Pembrook brought to SIUE.
“All nurses have a compassionate side to them. That’s part of the calling,” Griffin said. “But when you put them in this underserved population, you can sense that their compassionate spirit is growing larger with each interaction.”
For those interesting in donating medical supplies or other items for future service trips, contact Griffin at vgriffi@siue.edu.
Photos: Valerie Griffin, DNP, assistant clinical professor in the SIUE School of Nursing, and nursing graduate student Lorilee Sebesta, apply fluoride to Haitian children’s teeth during their Oct. service trip.
SIUE School of Nursing student Greg Jennings provides care for a baby in Guatemala.
(L-R) Greg Jennings, Myndee Camerer, Marissa Collier and SIUE School of Nursing instructor Bernadette Sobczak traveled to Guatemala in October for a medical service trip.
