Trent/Fleming School of Nursing graduate, Allen Vo
GAINING A GLOBAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVE Alumni’s healing hands bring hope locally and abroad
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s nursing students, Allen Vo ’13 and Holly Howson ’14 both had the opportunity to join the Trent Nursing Brigade, an educational placement in Central America that not only prepares students for some of the challenges that they may face as professional nurses, but provides vulnerable communities with primary healthcare support but. Now, almost a decade later, Allen, a nurse practitioner in Perioperative Medicine and Complex Malignant Hematology at Juravinski Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario, and Holly, a critical care nurse for Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance in Stratford, Ontario, will once again join the Nursing Brigade—this time bringing a wealth of experience to a new group of students during this life-changing opportunity.
The Nursing Brigade, under the leadership of Trent’s Dr. Patti Tracey, takes students on a 12-day journey through remote villages where they support the primary healthcare needs of the most vulnerable community members, and provide important education on topics such as sexual health, family planning, gender equality, nutrition, dental care and clean water access. During their stay, students also assist with community initiatives such as installing and maintaining clean water filters, assisting with new community gardens and completing small construction projects to aid and assist communities in healthy daily living.
TRENT Magazine (TM): You are joining the Trent Nursing Brigade again this fall. What brings you back? Allen Vo (AV): As a student, I took part in the Fall Nursing Brigade in 2014 and have since returned to Honduras as a volunteer in 2017, 2018, and 2020. My first trip changed my perspective on the work being done and the impact it had. With the Trent Nursing Brigades, Dr. Tracey makes a conscious effort to work with community members and leaders to create successful programs that foster knowledge, provide resources, and empower community members through fundraising and projects by our nursing students. That feeling that you are a part of the community and working together with the Honduran people was a highlight to me and has driven me to return.
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