Six Denver College of Nursing Students Serve the Needs of Communities in Dominican Republic

Denver College of Nursing (DCN) students and one DCN faculty member provided healthcare and education to hundreds of Dominicans during their seven-day trip to the Dominican Republic.

The school’s Global Health Perspectives program (GHP) partnered with the Foundation of International Medical Relief for Children (FIMRC), a non-profit organization committed to bring improved healthcare to communities in the developing world (https://www.fimrc.org/). The students worked out of Restauración, and traveled to several remote villages. FIMRC supports local clinic staff, organizes health fairs, and educates mothers about breast feeding, mommy-baby nutrition, and breast cancer. The highest areas of need supported by DCN students included nutrition, menstrual hygiene, and childhood stimulation.

DCN students facilitated a health fair focused on child assessments, in order to make the appropriate hospital referrals for families. They also provided mommy-baby education to help women determine when to bring their children into the clinic or hospital setting. Students educated Dominican's on things they could do to improve and maintain the health of themselves and their children to avoid unnecessary health emergencies. Danielle Frank said "we also had the opportunity to shadow doctors at the hospitals and rural clinics. We set up a mobile clinic in a remote village and provided blood pressure screenings to an otherwise underserved populations".

DCN students described the experience as "overall, incredibly humbling. Throughout my time in the Dominican Republic, I realized how much I take access to healthcare for granted" (Frank). The group appreciated working along side each other toward shared goals of service, sustainability, safety, and social justice. Denver School of Nursing’s Global Health Perspectives program focuses on student development in global health settings around the world by combining classroom training with in-field service learning internships. GHP partners with nonprofits to promote its mission of healthcare education and sustainability in challenging national and international environment .