Students on a Mission – Interview with Dr. Susan Fletcher

Last week I had the pleasure of speaking with Susan Fletcher, EdD, MSN, professor at Chamberlain College of Nursing. I had heard in regards to the International Nursing Service Projects she had developed and was desirous to learn more in regards to the experiences of the scholars she accompanied her to countries equivalent to Brazil, Kenya, Bolivia and Uganda.

Dr. Fletcher, whose experience includes social work, emergency services and college nursing, has been taking students on missions for over 12 years. I used to be very impressed after I heard in regards to the patients they cared for and the way modern the scholars were of their planning and interventions. They needed to think outside the box and give you clever ideas to enhance people’s lives. For example:

• In the slums of Fortaleza, students saw a quadriplegic man regaining using his hands. His home was a brick expanse the dimensions of a closet and he spent his entire life in bed. Family members occasionally brought him food. The students noticed pinpoint red marks on his fingers. After seeing him for 3 days in a row, they realized that the marks were rat bites. The students thought they need to all take off their socks and put them on his feet to make it harder for the rats to get into his skin.
• Another patient, an elderly woman, was bedridden because of heel bedsores. There was nothing that might lift her feet and relieve the pressure. Students filled rubber gloves with water and placed them under her knuckles.
• In Bolivia, students met a lady with a seriously prolapsed rectum. They gave her protectors and a strap to support her.
• There are many orphans in Africa, where the incidence of HIV infection stays high. Students saw families with children caring for kids. In one case, an 11-year-old girl was answerable for 3 younger brothers and sisters. She cooked on an open fire dug into the bottom. Students treated burns, infections and injuries at various stages of healing.
• Another patient was dying, a person affected by tuberculosis and AIDS. The students helped the family clean it up. There was one student he consistently followed together with his eyes. This student learned that “sometimes all you can do is ‘be there.'”

Dr. Fletcher discussed the transformative nature of those experiences. Students developed incredible clinical skills and improved critical pondering skills. They learned to grasp cultural differences and problems related to the shortage of health care facilities, caregivers and medical supplies. Students became more comfortable using local resources and learned to “create from nothing.”

To be eligible for a mission, students must achieve a certain grade point average, complete an interview form, provide a letter of advice from clinical faculty and complete a person interview. Dr. Fletcher described the living conditions as “often sleeping on the floor, sometimes eating rice three times a day.” In Kenya, students woke up at 6 a.m., walked 5 miles to the village, after which spent the whole day on the clinic. During this trip, students visited roughly 2,500 people in 2 weeks.

Difficulty leaving… “touch and release”

In Kenya, because the group was preparing to depart, a two-year-old orphan crouched and cried in front of the clinic. The disciples “couldn’t bear it; they desired to take her home. Dr. Fletcher assured them that somebody had taken the time to decorate the infant and can be back for her. She told the scholars, “These are the living conditions here and we cannot save all the orphans.” Another essential message one team member shared with the group was, “even though you’re upset, remember that you saved a life because you were here.”