Promoting international education for Nurses
Atlanta, GA
Bottom: Port Au , Hati
Special to the Outlook
Dr. Mildred D. Fennal, Director of the International Nursing Education Consortium continues to advocate for student nurses and study abroad as a means of developing cultural competence. Efforts to include other cultures include the Dominican Republic (Spanish) and Haiti (French). At a recent conference in Haiti titled Seminaire Sur L’ Impact global de la Genetique (Global Impact of Genetics), Dr. Fennal presented information on Genetics and Globalization to two hundred and fifty nursing students and their faculty.
The Conference was a collaborative effort of Omicron Chapter of Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Incorporated, in support of the National Programs and Projects Committee of Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Incorporated and the L’Ecole Nationale D’Infirmieres De Port Au Prince (National School of Nurses of Port Au Prince). Dr. Fennal is the Chair Emeritus of the above committee. Mrs. Eleanor Peterson is the Chair and invited Dr. Fennal to be a presenter. Other speakers were from New York, Illinois, and Florida.
A week later a workshop on Preparing Nurses as global citizens was held in Atlanta, GA., where Dr. Fennal and presenters from California, Georgia, Florida and New York presented material to professors and students from colleges in Georgia and Florida on the necessity and urgency of preparing undergraduate nursing students to learn about the populations that they will care for during their career. The workshop is designed to show faculty how to integrate international study into nursing curricula for credit as part of the requirement for graduation. Through the program students are able to gain knowledge on the value of study abroad by being exposed to successful study abroad events and the outcomes of students who have completed study abroad ventures.
