After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Susan Calderon and Nina Ford, professors in Illinois State University’s Mennonite College of Nursing, traveled with 15 nursing students to Panama City, Panama, in May 2022 as part of Illinois State’s transcultural nursing program.
The trip afforded students opportunities to provide pediatric and public health nursing care to local communities. Students performed pediatric health assessments in community centers and an orphanage. They implemented a project on children’s oral health and nutrition, which they led in Spanish at a local nonprofit organization. They also traveled to remote, rural areas to administer vaccinations to Panama’s indigenous population.
Calderon designed the program to emphasize patient care.
“We are doing the care that is very specific to the person,” said Calderon, who teaches students to be mindful of patient needs with respect to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Calderon recognizes the financial hurdles college students face and is grateful for assistance provided by the Mennonite College of Nursing Endowed Transcultural Fund. The fund was created by professors Dr. Karrie Ingalsbe and Lynn Kennell, whose support was the first effort to sustain the college’s transcultural exchanges. Additional support was provided by the Jana L. Edge Endowed International Transcultural Nursing Scholarship, the Ralph and Louise Bellas Endowed Scholarship, the Mennonite Nurses Alumni Organization (MNAO) Endowed Transcultural Scholarship, and the Margaret Randolph Transcultural Program.
The Transcultural Fund helped underwrite trip costs for senior Alyssa Irby. She said the trip provided her a new lens through which to understand nursing and a greater appreciation for resources and opportunities within the college.
“It was extremely eye-opening to experience the health care system in a different country and make the comparisons to the health care system we have here in the states,” Irby said.
“Many of our students have been working other jobs to go into school. Not all nursing students have 100 percent of their parents’ support, financially,” said Calderon, who hopes to increase donations to the endowment. “The fund made it possible for students to attend the trip.”
Months after returning from the trip, Irby remained grateful for the experience.
“I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the donors who make this transcultural nursing experience a reality for so many students,” she said.
