For fifteen years, Vanier College has sent Nursing students to Malawi for their final clinical internship as part of the Malawi Nursing Exchange. The ten students who left Montreal in early March just recently returned from providing health care services in a number of locations in Malawi, including the Chilanga Health Centre, St Andrews Hospital and the Central Hospital in the capital city of Lilongwe.
Every year, in addition to providing services, the students also bring with them medical supplies donated by Health Partners International Canada (HIPC). This time round, thanks to HPIC and a generous sponsor, they brought $100,000 of quality medications to use and distribute at mobile clinics they visit in isolated rural areas. Last year, the students attended to 800 patients in one day alone. Many of these patients had not seen a health care provider for years.
Lois Brown, the President of HPIC and Deb Hopper, Director, Philanthropy, praised the work the students are doing and stressed the essential role they play in actually transporting medications and providing international humanitarian outreach - a role that has become more critical than ever given the recent American government cuts to USAID.
"It was a very positive experience for the students," said Melodie Hicks, Nursing teacher and instigator of the Malawi Nursing Exchange who, along with colleague Chrissy Mitchell, accompanied the students to Malawi. "When they distributed these necessary drugs to patients in poor villages in Malawi, they truly understood the importance of the work they are doing."
The Vanier students have a deep appreciation for the experience they gained in Malawi. One student, Serena Krief-Mestroni, states, " Having to work with such limited resources while caring for critically ill patients, has taught me to be extremely grateful for our ample services and materials readily available here in Canada. It has also forced me to be resourceful and flexible because the next step was often unpredictable. I will never forget many of the moments I had with patients; the frustration, anger, pride, and sense of accomplishment I would experience in one clinical shift."
In late March, a third Vanier teacher, Nathalie Seguin, also flew to Malawi to take part in a two-day simulation workshop at Kamuzu University's newly inaugurated simulation center. Nathalie provided training and demonstrations on the use of high-fidelity patient mannequins recently donated to the College of Nursing.
"Simulation-based learning is the cornerstone of today's nursing education," says Nathalie Séguin. "It provides students with a hands-on real life immersive experience in a safe learning environment. This initiative is designed to enhance simulation-based learning and strengthen nursing education through shared expertise."
The Malawi internship is a unique opportunity for graduating students to apply their knowledge and skills in a completely different context. Students learn firsthand how poverty, limited resources and cultural beliefs and values impact on health outcomes. The insights they gain in Malawi will be invaluable in the work they will do in Montreal hospitals that treat very culturally diverse patient populations.
Now that she is back home in Montreal, student Emma Bastone reflected on the depth of her experience and discoveries. "Sitting in a home that is now feeling alien, I'm struggling to process everything that I've lived for the past 2 months. In Malawi, they have to fight to keep going. The kids must learn from a young age how to be adults. The adults must never stop working in order to have enough money to support a family. Life is not easy or fair, but they don't demand it to be. Nevertheless, their smiles are bigger than ours; their welcoming arms are stretched wider than ours; their words hold greater meaning than ours; and their joy is deeper than ours. I found a home in the warm heart of Africa and its people."
