Sonya Schofield BSN, RN, Clinical Instructor Duke University School of Nursing, accompanied ten nursing students on her second Impact Global Health Alliance (IGHA) trip to the highlands of Guatemala this past April. The experience meets the clinical requirements of the Community and Public Health Nursing class for these students. For this particular class, students have the option to choose between local community sites or traveling to a global site which students must apply and pay for, though they do receive a generous scholarship from the Cullman Family. Sonya said that when she was a nursing student at Duke, she had the opportunity to travel to Barbados for her clinical experience and that she never could have imagined that she would one day be leading such a trip herself. A big Thank You to Sonya for her role in working with IGHA to improve the lives of women and children through her service in Guatemala and in her mentorship of future nurses. Here is her story.
“As a clinical instructor and labor and delivery nurse, it is a privilege to mentor nursing students and collaborate with the incredible partners from Impact Global Health. Working with nurses in the Casa Maternas in rural Guatemala is both rewarding and inspiring. Multiple students have been so transformed by the experience, they chose to purse nursing careers in global and/or maternal health.
Students are immersed in a rural setting with limited resources (the closest hospital is over 5 hours’ drive) and work alongside local nurses in the Casa Maternas-sharing ideas, learning from one another, and adapting skills to meet the needs of the community. Among many tasks, students conduct prenatal (before birth) and postpartum (after birth) assessments, assist with ultrasounds, support laboring patients, perform well-child checks, educate school-age children on health and hygiene, and help assess water filtration systems in local schools. They witness, first-hand, the positive impact the Casa Maternas have on the community by creating a welcoming, empowering space for mothers to receive prenatal care and to give birth.
Through this experience, students gain a deeper understanding of health disparities and global health challenges while strengthening their cultural competence and clinical skills. As healthcare in the United States becomes increasingly diverse, these experiences are invaluable in preparing nurses to deliver equitable, compassionate, and culturally informed care.”
Read more about the Casa Materna approach here and here.
Read more about the Duke School of Nursing experience. Hear first hand stories from students here and here.
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