July 14, 1997
Formal exchange program with universities in Thailand and Taiwan established
In the past 10 years, some 70 students from the University of Washington School of Nursing have participated in international programs on six continents, experiencing first-hand how health care is delivered in diverse cultures.
The Dean’s Club Special Scholars Program, funded by private, unrestricted gifts to the school, was begun by Dr. Sue T. Hegyvary, dean of the UW School of Nursing, in 1989. “As a nursing student at the University of Kentucky, I worked in a village in Ghana, West Africa,” she said. “The experience changed my vision of the world.”
Seeking to provide similar experiences to UW students, Hegyvary has worked to increase support for nursing students seeking cross-cultural experiences, both overseas and in the U.S. “The program enables students to immerse themselves in cultures very different from their own and to pursue their interests in cross-cultural health care,” she said.
The program has sent students to every continent except Antarctica; overseas sites have included China, Ecuador, El Salvador, England, Finland, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Israel, Jordan, Jamaica, Mexico, Micronesia, Peru, Poland, Russia, Samoa, Suriname, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and Zambia. Students also have worked with native peoples in Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii and South Dakota.
The program usually covers only the cost of airfare. Most students arrange their own accommodations, establish a relationship with a sponsor, formulate a plan for learning, and cover additional expenses of their one- to three-month stays. A faculty committee approves those proposals that offer careful plans for study, sponsorship and cultural experience.
As an outgrowth of the program, the School of Nursing last year began a formal exchange with the Faculty of Nursing at Chiang Mai University in Thailand.
Dr. Margaret Heitkemper, professor and chair of the Department of of Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems, taught a four-week course on women’s health to the Chiang Mai faculty. She was accompanied by three students — one undergraduate and two graduate — who observed various aspects of maternal and child care practices, stresses on children and adolescents, and issues related to HIV transmission.
This summer, Dr. Gail Kieckhefer, associate professor in the Department of Family and Child Nursing, will teach a pediatrics course at Chiang Mai University. Four students will accompany her.
A new exchange program with National Taiwan University will further enhance students’ understanding of health care in Asia. “Students returning to Seattle have new perspectives on health care and an altered sense of themselves as professionals and people,” said Hegyvary.
