A report from Transcultural Coordinator Karrie Ingalsbe:
“This past summer I had the privilege of taking two Mennonite College of Nursing students, Mallory Steffen and Laura Milas, to Russia for a weeklong experience. Taking students on a transcultural experience to learn about different cultures is so rewarding.
A McDonald’s in Russia
After we arrived, we had a 4½-hour drive to Vladimir. Our gracious hosts, Olga and Alina, brought food and water for us while we traveled. The next day we toured Vladimir and then traveled to Suzdal to spend the rest of the day sightseeing. We also went to Moscow with a small group of teachers and students from the Vladimir Medical College. It was a hot day for walking, but we all enjoyed the people and food. We even found a Russian McDonald’s! We are learning more Russian words, and Nina, our interpreter, taught us a song in Russian.
After a few days of sightseeing and adjusting to a new culture, we visited several medical facilities. One of the facilities was the Blue Sky Children’s Sanatorium. We traveled to Kovrov to watch the nursing student competitions between four schools, and the Vladimir students took first place. The competitions are held every year between various nursing programs. The competitors were first-year nursing students. One faculty member from each school served as a judge.
Students had to create an artist presentation of the characteristics of a good nurse. All of the schools came up with a musical routine that included singing, dancing, and a PowerPoint presentation that accompanied their performance. The students also had to take turns answering nursing-based questions in front of the audience. One team member from each team was also required to demonstrate appropriate technique for administering an IM injection.
The MCN students and others in Russia.
After the competition, Olga took us to the theater Razguljaj. The students had fun participating in one of the dances when the performers needed audience participation. Our final medical visits were tours of various hospitals including Avtopribor Hospital, the Regional Children’s Hospital, and the Psychiatric Hospital where we were treated to a few songs by the children in the children’s portion of the facility.
Opportunities such as this offer our nursing students experiences they cannot receive in other nursing programs. Mennonite College of Nursing truly has an amazing transcultural nursing experience to offer students. It definitely puts them ahead of their peers from other programs.”
