Gaining a Global Health Perspective

Trent/Fleming School of Nursing graduate, Allen Vo

Alumni’s healing hands bring hope locally and abroad

As 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.

Trent/Fleming School of Nursing graduate, Holly Howson

This year, I am joining the Brigade as a clinical instructor, and I look forward to seeing how the projects have progressed in-country and visiting our community partners and friends. I also hope that my experiences will guide and inspire the students. I was once where they are now and know how much stress they have, especially now as there are significant challenges in the nursing profession. Our nursing students are the future of the profession and I hope to be a positive mentor to these future changemakers.

Holly Howson (HH): For me, going back to Honduras will be quite nostalgic and I look forward to seeing the country and people again. When we went on the brigade in 2015, we stayed at a children’s village operated by Sociedad de los Niños. Many of us ended up sponsoring some of the children when we returned and it would be great to reconnect with these friends.

I also want to transition into a leadership role, and the opportunity to help mentor this second-year clinical group will give me that opportunity as a volunteer. As an alum, I get to experience the brigade from a different perspective, and I’m excited to see these students experiencing it for the first time and to support them along the way.

TM: It has been almost a decade since your first Nursing Brigade to Honduras. Can you share a bit about that experience? AV: On my first trip to Honduras, we focused on providing access to clean water in the rural village of El Suyatillo. We planned to install household plastic basin biosand filters that would supply a family with five gallons of clean water daily, and to initiate some quality improvements by monitoring the water quality in the filters installed the previous year. Unfortunately, only one of the three existing filters was working. We remedied the existing filters and returned from Honduras driven to ensure the success of the water project. I spent the rest of my time at Trent developing training modules and surveillance surveys to prepare future students to install, maintain, and train others in the use of the biosand water filters while performing continuous quality improvements.

Overall, this project would not have been successful without continued relationship building with community leaders and stakeholders to guide how the project could best support the community and be sustained. It has improved access to clean water, empowered the community, and continues to grow.

HH: I went to Honduras in the fall of 2015 and our group’s focus was mainly on health education and promotion. My partner and I taught English as a second language at primary schools, while others in our group presented to older populations on topics like mosquito-borne illnesses, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and safe food handling. During our Brigade, we visited several rural schools—in fact, I remember being loaded into a pickup truck and driving for two hours in the mountains to one of the schools! It was such an eye-opening experience to see these communities and teachers make do with the resources they had available, and it really made us aware of our own privilege here in Canada. Each school we visited was different and we had to adjust our presentation accordingly. This taught us to be adaptable and find creative solutions, and we walked away more experienced and confident in our abilities.

TM: Why is it so critical for nursing students to gain hands-on experience outside of the classroom, particularly in rural communities and communities with limited access to health services?

AV: I believe it provides perspective and helps develop critical thinking. While systemic issues exist in any community you work in, small rural communities are often less likely to have the supports, resources, and funding to provide the same level of care as you would see in larger cities. This often puts a great deal of responsibility on nursing to care for individuals who

typically have worse outcomes due to inaccessibility to care. You are often left adapting to your resources and using creative solutions to address problems. As a nursing student, you spend your academic career learning theory and practicing skills, taking in as much clinical experience as you can to best handle this significant amount of responsibility. Early experiences among these rural communities help provide perspective on the needs of your patients, wherever they may reside, while developing critical thinking skills to adapt to the environment you are in.

HH: These experiences are 100% about gaining perspective. This is often students’ first time travelling outside of Canada and it can be quite a culture shock. Opportunities like the Nursing Brigade teach students to see the bigger picture, to see the social injustices others face and to realize just how privileged we are. You also learn to be more flexible, to adapt at a moment’s notice and to work with diverse patients—all of which are important skills in your career as a nurse. TM: The Nursing Brigade really exposes students to the social determinants of nursing and the health disparities around the world. How has the experience impacted you and your career trajectory? AV: The experiences that these brigades have given me are immeasurable. They have shaped my nursing through increased cultural competence and empathy and learning through an immersed lens. They allowed me to start my nursing career seeking more perspective and context when caring for my patients, as opposed to just seeing a problem. The brigades have driven me to be more aware of my surroundings and the problems faced in our own communities while giving me the tools to be a driver of change. I think that is reflected in my professional career and my volunteerism.

HH: Before going to Honduras with Trent, I hadn’t really travelled internationally, but going on the brigade really showed me how easy it is to bring joy to people, and opened my eyes to the many opportunities within the nursing profession. It really piqued my interest in seeing and experiencing the world and working with different communities. Since then, I have gone on similar trips to Guatemala, Ecuador, and India with a Toronto-based company called Operation Groundswell. They do what they call backpack tourism, which is backpacking slash activism. You get to experience the culture and people of a country, the food and the language, while also doing community-focused work. For example, in Guatemala, we assisted with a reforestation project. I also started travel nursing this year, just here in Canada, but I would like to do this internationally as well.

Dr. Tracey, Allen, Holly and the students will embark on the fall Brigade on October 19, 2022. As of next year, students will also have the opportunity to work in Guatemala thanks to a new partnership with Horizons of Friendship and a Universities Canada grant.

Programs such as the Nursing Brigade are important learning opportunities for Trent nursing students, but the cost can be a barrier for some. Visit mycommunity.trentu. ca/nursingbrigade to find out how you can support our future nurses.

PHILANTHROPY IN ACTION COMPASSIONATE & CRITICAL THINKERS

will provide care as nurses ...

Local students from rural or farming communities who face financial barriers to an education in nursing are supported through the Doreen (Larmer) Stewart Nursing Scholarship.