Nursing Students to Talk About Visit to the Philippines

Ten nursing students from Truman traveled with faculty Kit and Steve Hadwiger to the Philippines May 18-June 10 to gain clinical experience with patients from a transcultural perspective.

During the first week in Manila, the students participated in maternal and nursery care where they developed competencies in the assessment of birthing mothers and newborns and cross-cultural communication. Each student had the opportunity to assist in delivering a newborn baby. Students also had the opportunity to assist with patient care in units of their choice, including the major and minor operating room, neonatal ICU, burn unit and emergency department. From Manila, they traveled south to Iloilo City where the students enrolled in the 19th Transcultural Nursing Program at West Visayas State University. Clinical experiences included home visits within an indigenous population of the Philippines, a leprosarium and hospital rotations in the medical, pediatric and surgical wards of WVSU Medical Center.