Seven College of the Rockies nursing students have recently returned from a field school excursion to Kenya.

Over three weeks, the students contributed to the college’s Maternal Access and Infant Survival for Health Advancement (MAISHA) project.  The MAISHA project is being implemented by the College in partnership with Dedan Kimathi University of Technology and Kenya’s Ministry of Health, with funding provided by the Government of Canada.  The aim of the project is to improve maternal, newborn and child health services by strengthening community health units and rural health facilities in Kenya.

“Providing international learning opportunities for our students is part of the college’s commitment to student success and satisfaction,” said Kerry Brinkert, College of the Rockies Manager of International Projects. “By having travelled to Kenya to participate in the MAISHA project, our students have become more globally-minded.  This experience and the cross-cultural competencies our students have acquired will contribute to their success as nurses in an increasingly interconnected world.”

The primary focus for the nursing students during their field school was nutrition.  They participated in training of community health volunteers, accompanied volunteers and Kenyan nursing students on household visits and took part in applied research on the nutritional habits of the locals, reporting their results back to the MAISHA stakeholders’ conference at the conclusion of their stay.

“Taking part in the field school added greatly to my personal and professional growth as a student nurse,” said second-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing student, Lisa Petrie. “In just a short period I was able to broaden my perspective of health care in a developing country and make a meaningful contribution to the MAISHA project.”

Each week of the field school, one student contributed an update of the experience on the College’s blog. These entries can be read in their entirety at: cotr.ca/blog.

Learn more about College of the Rockies’ MAISHA project at cotr.ca/maisha  
Find out more about College of the Rockies’ nursing programs at: cotr.ca/health

Above photo:  (l-r) College of the Rockies Manager of International Projects Kerry Brinkert, with students Brittny Schroeter, Brenna Smith, Rachel Hawke, Morgan Bulloch, Caitlynn Benson, Jackie Strauss and Lisa Petrie in Kenya.

COTR

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