 |
GAIN
GAIN is an open forum for the UCLA nursing community to enhance knowledge and participation in global health. We welcome all undergraduate and graduate students and faculty who are interested in nursing abroad.
Global health nursing is a wonderful chance to help those in the greatest need of healthcare throughout the world. We aim to create a space for globally minded nurses and students to learn, discuss, and act on healthcare inequities across borders.
We are always seeking opportunities to enrich the UCLA School of Nursing with international nursing experiences. Share your stories with us.
Panama: Spring Break 2013
In March 2013, 1 PhD and 3 APN UCLA nursing students joined the Floating Doctors medical mission in Panama to work in remote Ngabe-Bugle indigenous communities with poor access to care. In a mission by boat to a local island community and a three-day mission on foot with pack horses to the mountain community of La Sabana, the team worked with Floating Doctors staff to provide primary care services and preventive health to over 175 patients during these mobile deployments, about 60% of which were pediatric consults. Some of the many conditions treated included diarrheal disease, tropical skin infections (excoriated bug bites, scabies, and fungus), dirty wounds, respiratory infections, and chronic problems such as diabetes and heart disease; in addition over 250 patients received deworming medication, many pregnant women in the remote communities received pre-natal ultrasound and vitamins, and several patients were earmarked for more advanced follow-up services which were delivered over the subsequent weeks. The team also volunteered at the Asilo (nursing home) supported by the Floating Doctors in Bocas del Toro.
Tecate, Mexico: March 2013
In March of 2013, four Masters Entry Clinical Nursing students had the opportunity to join Smiles International for two days in Tecate, Mexico as student nurse volunteers. Smiles International performs charitable surgical procedures for underprivileged individuals with cleft and craniofacial deformities. On this particular trip, students encountered an obstacle with a power-outage in the clinic, but Dr. Jeff Moses, the founder of Smiles International, demonstrated great perseverance in acquiring a generator to be able to perform all of the planned surgeries for the patients. Joining Smiles International in Tecate gave students the opportunity to not only hone clinical skills and work with an interdisciplinary team of healthcare professionals, but also to witness the progress of the patients. The students worked in preoperative and postoperative care.
Tecate, Mexico: Fall 2012
On Saturday, November 9th, six SON students and two UCLA Medical Center OR nurses went medical trip to Tecate, Mexico in volunteering for tri-annual cleft and craniofacial deformities Surgical Day projected by Smiles of Tecate. During the trip, the students assisted in surgical facial and dental treatments with a total of 8 cleft palates and lips surgical procedures. The tasks included pre and post operation assessment, medication administration education, sterilization of surgical tools, preparation of home care kits, and post anesthesia care. All eight candidates were treated successfully and were sent home at the same day. The students had a great opportunity to learn how the surgical procedure runs and had a great time interacting with patients and their families.
The first picture shows the SON students Kat Shultz, Briana Schafer, Zane Muthamia, Alex Urbina, Leslie Ling and Jessica Lee and two UCLA Medical Center OR nurses Samantha Kunemoto and Heather Sossy.
Kenya-Uganda: Summer 2012
In September 2012, a group of 10 nursing students, current nurses and advanced practice nurses traveled to Got Osimbo and Msabweni, Kenya. The team worked in collaboration with Global Support Mission (www.globalsupportmission.com) and Action Ministry (www.actionministrykenya.com). These organizations assisted with organizing the logistics, food and lodging of the trip, and acted as hosts to the team on the ground. The first part of the trip was held in Got Osimbo, a community near the Ugandan-Kenya border where the team held 3 outreaches. In Got Osimbo, there was a 33% malaria positive RDT rate among those older than 5 years of age. After three days of outreach, the team took an overnight bus ride to Msabweni where the team held 3 more outreaches. In Msabweni, the needs of the community were different in that the patient population required wound care for Hansen's disease and jigger removal. In addition to the medical care provided, the group also took suit cases filled with clothing, hygiene and shoe donations that were given to the communities they worked with. At the end of their two-week mission, the team served a total of 958 patients! This outreach was coordinated by Nyein "Ty Ty" Win, RN, FNP and Candis Clark, the current Education Co-Chair for Global Action in Nursing (GAIN) at UCLA (http://nursing.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=346).
Panama: December 2011 and Summer 2012
In December 2011 and Summer 2012 GAIN helped to organize four trips to work with Floating Doctors in Panama to provide care for the indigenous Ngobe people in the Bocas del Toro province. The efforts of 47 UCLA APNs, MECNs, and BSNs during the four trips provided care to approximately 2,200 patients in 12 indigenous communities. The geographic isolation of these island communities means that it is both logistically difficult and expensive to travel to receive care at local hospitals. Often a patient must travel for hours through rough seas in a wooden kayuka (indigenous boat) only to get denied a visit at the local hospital. Floating Doctors brings teams of surgeons, tropical medicine specialists, nurses, and other care providers to these communities to provide direct patient care and also initiates public health projects, facilitates transport of patients, and advocates for patient care. Conditions treated varied from dengue fever and leishmaniasis to intestinal parasites and diabetes. Gastrointestinal illness is also common and is largely due to contaminated drinking water. UCLA students helped to establish ties in the community of Playa Verde where Floating Doctors will be working to provide with filtered rainwater catchment systems and in Bahia Azul in which a future Fulbright scholarship will be utilized to implement a HIV screening and treatment program. Floating Doctors looks forward to its continuing relationship with UCLA students in further outreach efforts.
Kenya-ELI Chebaiywa Center 2012
This past summer, GAIN recruited five nursing students (4 MECN students, 1 Pediatric APN student) and one former MECN who is now employed in the OR at UCLA Santa Monica, to travel to Elderot, Kenya. There the team worked at a rural clinic that is run by an FNP and UCLA alumni, Michelle Kiprop. Michelle and the clinic are affiliated with the organization Empower Lives International (ELI): http://www.empoweringlives.org/. This organization has establishments throughout Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan, and Congo. The clinic at which the students worked in is actually the only medical establishment by ELI. Their other establishments are geared towards education and housing for orphans.
The clinic that the students worked in is located in a very small town called Chebaiywa. In fact, it is so small that you will not find it on a map of Kenya. The clinic consisted of two patient rooms, a dental room, an optometry room, a laboratory room, and a waiting room. Adjacent to the main clinic was a women's clinic where the women of the community delivered babies and had follow up care (just to let everyone know, the team did participate in one baby delivery, which is an entire story in of itself). At each clinic, students were paired with a licensed Kenyan health professional (Health Officer or Nurse) and assisted them in seeing patients. The nursing students also participated in several outreaches in neighboring communities. The first outreach was a Chiggers removal, where students had to remove chiggers from the feet of patients. The students also took shoes and socks that they had gathered up before leaving for the trip to donate to patients because the primary reason for chiggers is walking barefoot on dirt floors. The second outreach was an optometry clinic and dental clinic that was held at another neighboring community. The final outreach was a two-day First-Aid and CPR Training course that the students prepared and conducted for the volunteers and locals of the community.
At the end of the two weeks, the team capped their volunteer work with a safari! The experience was very humbling and insightful for everyone and was definitely a highlight in each of the student's lives. The trip was coordinated by David Fuentes, a second year MECN and current co-president of GAIN. If anyone is interested in recreating this trip in the future David is more than happy to have you to contact him at davidf49@gmail.com if guidance or help is needed in planning.
Kaihura & Buseesa: December 2011
In December, a new team of nursing students returned to rural Uganda to provide much needed medical care.
You can read all about their trip at www.ugandasupportmission.blogspot.com.
Kaihura, Uganda: September 2011
A team of 18 UCLA nurses and nursing students provided medical care to the Kaihura, Uganda community through home visitis, medical outreaches, and clinical support. As the UCLA students became part of the Kaihura community they gained knowledge on tropical diseases, Ugandan culture, and simple living. Through partnerships with Bringing Hope to the Family and Global Support Mission the UCLA team cared for 1086 patients, performed 1235 HIV tests, and hung 68 mosquito nets.
San Jose, Costa Rica: March 2011
A small team of 7 MECN students went to Costa Rica to provide assessments and vitamins to children in the Tibas and La Carpio precarios of San José -- low income communities of Nicaraguan immigrants. Through the coordination of Máximo Nivel, the students were also able to participate in activities at Centro Nacional de Educacion Especial Fernando Centeno Guell, Guadalupe -- a school for blind and deaf children -- help support elders at Hogar Carlos Maria Ulloa nursing home, and shadow nurses on the floor of Hospital de los Ninos.
