Musings from nicaragua: my second year and counting.
OBJECTIVE
To create, organize, and implement an international experience for students in a baccalaureate nursing program.


METHODS
Returning to Nicaragua after a year, I was confronted with the loss of a friend there who had exhausted treatment options for her breast cancer. Reflecting on this and other realities of healthcare delivery provided a poignant lesson for the author and students in the realities of health care in a developing nation.


RESULTS
International experiences are life changing for students preparing to be nurses and enrich their professors.


CONCLUSIONS
International experiences stay with us well beyond the limited time we get to spend in another culture. They have the potential to inspire us to continue to work and serve in the global health community. Our experiences also solidified my commitment to return and to explore more opportunities to both teach and learn from Nicaragua's people with whom we have the privilege to work.
Simmons College, Boston, MA, USA. jean.christoffersen@simmons.edu
Jean
J
Christoffersen
D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D003906:Developing Countries; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007393:International Educational Exchange; D033262:Narration; D009527:Nicaragua; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology*