The School of Nursing in Ecuador

The Auburn University School of Nursing (AUSON), which was established in 1979, seeks to foster and exemplify excellence in teaching, service, outreach, and research. The program prepares students to provide patient-centered, culturally competent, evidence-based care for diverse populations in a dynamic health care environment.

For two weeks in March 2015, Auburn sent a team of thirty people to Calderon, Ecuador to host a health clinic for women and children. A group of Auburn nursing students, who comprised the majority of the team, were accompanied by nursing faculty, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and students of these fields, as well as a nutrition student.

The nursing students conducted basic health assessments and held daily teaching sessions, during which they educated women about heart disease, diabetes, sexual health, and breast feeding, among other subjects. Through healthcare administration and education, the Auburn medical team was able to serve over 350 women and children. Dr. Kathy Jo Ellison, the AUSON faculty member who led the trip, said “In the Auburn Creed we talk about the human touch. We talk about giving to others and giving back, and I think doing [this mission work] fulfills that creed.”

AUSON played a pivotal role in the Ecuador trip’s success. The preceding semester, nursing students were offered a competency course during which they learned about foreign cultures and the role of nursing in those cultures. AUSON also suggested ways for students to raise money for the trip and provided the medications and equipment necessary to care for Calderon’s population. According to Kat Spain, a nursing student, AUSON taught the students everything they needed to know and enabled them to serve the Ecuadorians as best as possible.

Kat was particularly moved by one woman who literally offered the shirt off her back in gratitude for the medical services she received. Another patient sent fifteen pounds of bananas and a thank you note after receiving care. The Ecuadorian people exhibited an exemplary level of thankfulness, and no matter how earnestly the nursing students explained that they were happy to serve them without pay, the people insisted that they receive the gifts being offered.

Alongside the valuable lessons the trip taught AUSON students about diversity and the importance of health education, the experience also reminded them of why they chose to become nurses. Dani Calleri, a nursing student, explained, “The people of Calderon taught me more about the true meaning of nursing than two years in school and hundreds of clinical hours ever did. They reminded me that the true meaning of being a nurse is sharing love, spreading joy, always smiling, and remembering that learning from your patients is equally as important as them learning from you.”

Dr. Jean Dubois, an AUSON faculty member who went on the trip, further explained, “They won’t be the same [people] that they were when they came. They’re going to be much more compassionate and caring and understanding of people who don’t have the resources we have in the United States.”