Program: UW Nursing in Malawi, Summer
Ruby’s Major: Nursing
What is the most memorable experience from your program?
The most memorable experience I had during the program was supporting women as they gave birth in the Labor and Delivery ward of Kasungu District Hospital. It was so interesting getting to see all of the work that the nurses do and learn from the nursing students. They were all wonderful teachers!
This experience will benefit my career heavily because it taught me so much about caring for people with different identities than your own.
How were your program academics similar or different from taking classes at UW-Madison?
The academics of this program were different than classes because most of our learning came from observing. We had to take every opportunity we could to get to see things, and weren’t guaranteed to all have the same experiences. In the end we got to learn so much that we never would have learned at home, we just learned it in a different way.
What is the moment you are most proud of?
Getting to hold one of the babies after helping the mom deliver! It was so exciting getting to hand her the baby and see how happy she was. I was not only proud of myself but proud of her as well.
What did you learn about yourself or the world because of your experience?
This program taught me so much about flexibility and making do with the resources that you have. Every nurse there was so good at working on the fly, and making new equipment when situations didn’t go as planned. Lots of parts of our program also didn’t go as planned but we had to be flexible and know that it would all work out in the end!
How will your experience benefit yo in the future? How might it affect your future career or studies?
This experience will benefit my career heavily because it taught me so much about caring for people with different identities than your own. It made us think deeply about privilege and resources and how they intersect with healthcare. It also gave us insight into a system where healthcare is more holistic, and taught me to take that into consideration with my own patient care techniques.