Ask us how you and your class can customize this offering to be done in person in one of our program countries.
Nurses will acquire an advanced understanding of the issues impacting individual and community health in urban and rural Honduras. They will understand one NGO’s strategies to provide access to healthcare professionals and prescribed medications. Students will also design health education and disease prevention materials that will be presented to Community Health Entrepreneurs/Community Healthcare Workers for use in their communities.
During the program, students will virtually shadow our local medical professionals in Honduras to deliver critical health services to resource-limited communities in urban and rural settings. Students are immersed in the details of region-specific diseases and health issues; community health entrepreneurs/community healthcare workers, doctors, and patients supported by advanced telemedical equipment; explore pharmacology and the application of traditional medicines, and learn how to conduct monitoring and evaluations.
Students also work to develop intercultural competencies that are integrated into the course. Ultimately, these engaged experiences help to increase the quality of services that improve the outcomes for our patients.
Nursing Program Learning Objectives
Students that successfully complete the Nursing Program will be able to:
- Discuss issues impacting the healthcare system in a developing country.
- Analyze the social determinants of health that impact the wellbeing of urban and rural clinic patients.
- Discuss the role and practice of the Community Health Entrepreneurs (CHEs)/Community Healthcare Workers (CHWs).
- Identify common diseases and treatments used in urban and rural clinics.
- Analyze data to monitor health trends and identify health risk factors unique to a single rural community.
Resources provided in support of the virtual sessions and Modules
- A bilingual, on-the-ground session facilitator will coordinate each virtual session with students.
- A translator is provided in each virtual session in which students engage with patients and community healthcare workers. Doctors and medical staff are also bilingual.
- Program materials are provided to all students.
- Session scheduling that coordinates your course and medical clinics.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
There are thirteen Modules in the Nursing Program. Each Module is scheduled for two-hours. The Modules can be variously assembled to build programs of the appropriate length and focus. Additional Modules can be developed to address specific campus needs.
Module 1: Global Brigades Overview (Contact time: 2 hours est.)
Facilitator and student introductions and a presentation on Global Brigades (GB) and its NGO non-profit development programs, including medical programming in Honduras. An exploration of key approaches to working with international communities: reflection, action, and intercultural competencies.
Module 1 – Self-paced follow-up activities:
Reflect on Global Brigades’ holistic model and the advantages of an integrated community development approach that impacts health.
Module 2: The Honduran Medical and Healthcare Systems (Contact time: 2 hours est.)
Explore in detail the Honduran medical and healthcare systems.
Module 2 – Self-paced follow-up activities:
Reflect on the Honduran medical and healthcare systems, and draw parallels to your own healthcare systems.
Module 3: Social Determinants of Health and the Honduran Medical Program (Contact time: 2 hours est.)
Getting to know the social determinants that could impact the lives of the people in the rural and urban areas. Students will get to know four strategies applied by Global Brigades to help entire communities live healthier lives (including community selection criteria) by preventing and/or addressing disease.
Module 3 – Self-paced follow-up activities:
Students will explore the community profile on our website by visiting www.globalbrigades.org/countries/honduras, and then complete out the Social Determinants of the Health worksheet.
Module 4: Community Health Entrepreneurs/Community Healthcare Workers (Contact time: 2 hours est.)
Facilitator discusses Global Brigades’ Community Health Entrepreneurs (CHEs)/Community Healthcare Workers (CHWs) Program as a first strategy to address the social determinants of health in Honduras, as well as in other countries in the world.
Module 4 – Self-paced follow-up activities:
Prepare questions for the Community Health Entrepreneurs (CHEs)/Community Healthcare Workers (CHWs) meeting in Module 5.
Module 5: Meeting Community Health Entrepreneur/Community Healthcare Workers in Honduras (Contact time: 2 hours est.)
Live meeting with Community Health Entrepreneurs (CHEs)/Community Healthcare Workers (CHWs) to discuss specific community needs and the role of the CHWs to support the continuity of care within the community.
Module 5 – Self-paced follow-up activities:
Use the worksheet to research and compare other CHE/CHW interventions around the world.
Module 6: Clinic Preparation 1 (Contact time: 2 hours est.)
Learning about the second strategy for improving the social determinant of health: lack of access to a healthcare professional (urban clinic). A local Medical Doctor will work with students to prepare for the urban clinic session. The most common diseases encountered in the country will be discussed, Electronic Medical Records will be analyzed, and effective medical consultations with local patients will be conducted to determine correct diagnoses.
Module 6 – Self-paced follow-up activities:
Group reviews anonymized past patient data from rural clinics and reviews the common illnesses encountered.
Module 7: Clinic Preparation 2 – Pharmacology and Traditional Medicine (Contact time: 2 hours est.)
Learning about the third strategy for improving the social determinant of health: lack of access to affordable prescribed medicine (urban clinic). A local MD will present on common medications and their use in the clinics, along with an introduction to traditional Honduran medicine.
Module 7 – Self-paced follow-up activities:
Students will collaborate to develop health education and disease prevention materials to be presented in Module 13 to CHEs/CHWs for use in their communities, for example an outline of a presentation, PowerPoint, educational games, pre and post quizzes, etc.
Module 8: Clinic Preparation 3 – TeleMedicine Equipment, Patient Consultations Simulations, and Local Symptom-Disease Practice (Contact time: 2 hours est.)
Students will be oriented to the telemedicine equipment used at the urban clinic, will conduct patient consultations simulations at the Triage Station, and engage in local symptom-disease exercises. An MD will conduct mock patient consultations with students to prepare for the Clinic Sessions and practice Spanish medical terms.
Module 8 – Self-paced follow-up activities:
Students review the Spanish Medical Terminology worksheet.
Module 9: Live Virtual Urban Clinic Day 1 (Contact time: 2 hours est.)
Students will be shadowing our Honduran MDs, Optometrists, Pharmacists, and Dentists utilizing telemedical devices at our Urban Clinic in Tegucigalpa.
Module 9 – Self-paced follow-up activities:
Reflections and observations from Urban Clinic Day 1.
Module 10: Live Virtual Urban Clinic Day 2 (Contact time: 2 hours est.)
Students will be shadowing our Honduran MDs, Optometrists, Pharmacists, and Dentists utilizing telemedical devices at our Urban Clinic in Tegucigalpa.
Module 10 – Self-paced follow-up activities:
Reflections and observations from Urban Clinic Day 2.
Module 11: Recorded Rural Clinic Day (Contact time: 2 hours est.)
Students will observe some of the social determinants of health impacting the lives of rural community members. A rural clinic day is recorded in a community assigned to each class, where students observe how a selection of MDs, CHEs/CHWs, Optometrists, and Dentists work with patients in a mobile rural clinic setting. An MD will discuss the most interesting epidemiological cases encountered in the rural clinic, along with patient feedback.
Module 11 – Self-paced follow-up activities:
The class updates the Social Determinants of Health worksheet.
Module 12: Rural Clinic Data – Monitoring and Evaluation (Contact time: 2 hours est.)
Students will learn how to monitor health trends and identify health risk factors unique to the assigned rural community.
Module 12 – Self-paced follow-up activities:
The group completes the rural community’s Impact Report to be presented in Module 13. The group also prepares cooking materials for the Cultural Celebration.
Module 13: Final Presentations, Cultural Celebration, and Final Reflections (Contact time: 2 hours est.)
Students present the rural community’s Impact Report to the facilitator. Students will also present their health education and disease prevention materials (prepared following Module 7) to the CHEs/CHWs for use in their communities. Group prepares a local Honduran dish to be shared and reflects on the overall experience of the Program.
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