HOPE Volunteer Nurse Shares Knowledge with Chinese Nursing Students
Nurse Jacqueline Myers recently returned after serving as a Project HOPE volunteer, lecturing at Sanda University in Shanghai.
Jacqueline Myers is an advanced practice nurse practitioner in an emergency department in Chicago and also teaches graduate courses at DePaul University. She recently returned after serving as a Project HOPE volunteer, lecturing at Sanda University in Shanghai.
I have been a practicing registered nurse for ten years and a nurse practitioner for the past three years. In additional to my clinical work, I volunteer with Big Brothers, Big Sisters in Chicago and enjoy the time I spend with the youth that I mentor in that program.
In February, I went on a trip to Lebanon with the Syrian American Medical Society. During this trip I provided medical care to refugees.
My most recent trip was to Shanghai. This was my first Project HOPE mission, but I want to participate in others.
As a Project HOPE volunteer in Shanghai, I met with small groups of students for conversations to help improve their English skills, including medical terminology. In addition, I was in the Renji Hospital observing students in the clinical setting. Based on all these experiences, I was able to submit a report comparing and contrasting Western vs. Eastern nursing programs. I found that nursing students in the U.S. and China receive a high quality of education; there are more similarities than differences in the way the nursing schools in both countries prepare nursing students. The differences seem to be based primarily in fundamental differences in our healthcare systems.
I also gave lectures on “Nursing in America” to the Sanda students in Shanghai. These lectures included information about American health insurance, a history of advanced practice nursing in the U.S., and what it’s like to work as an emergency department registered nurse in the U.S.
Because I enjoy teaching, working with the students in Shanghai helped me to remember why I wanted to be a nurse in the first place.
The students were great, very similar to American students. They were optimistic and ready to learn.They also had a wide range of questions, from American nurse salaries, to dealing with death in the hospital, to what my natural hair color is!