Nursing students learn from refugee families

Aroni Ndayisaba didn't quite understand why the two young people who had visited him and his family for several months weren't going to do it anymore.

All he knew is that he was happy to see them and enjoyed their company.

Mr. Ndayisaba and his family are one of 11 refugee families paired up with 21 Southern Adventist University School of Nursing students in fall semester for a new program called Adopt-A-Family.

Jennifer Durham and Jeff Myers, both nursing seniors, worked with the Ndayisaba family this semester and recently met with them for the last time.

As part of their Transcultural Nursing course, the students worked with families from Burundi, Cuba, Iraq and Sudan on health-related issues, including doctor's visits, transportation and nutrition.

"The students went in thinking they were going to do what they did as a nurse, but came to realization that they also needed basic things such as transportation or someone to fill out a form at the doctor's office," said Jillian Wills, associate professor at the School of Nursing at Southern Adventist.

Miss Durham learned of the difficulties of navigating the health care system when she took Eveline Bwereyebo, Mr. Ndayisaba's wife, to the doctor.

"Even as an American, it was difficult to navigate the system as a new patient," she said. "Without proper communication, she would have been stuck."

the first visit

Mr. Meyers said he just didn't know what to expect when he visited the family for the first time.

"This was the very first time I had ever worked with refugees," said the 23-year-old registered nurse. "(But) the project as a whole helped me become much more aware of the needs of refugees and the difficulty of integrating with a foreign culture."

The families were chosen based on their time in the country and their medical needs.

"For nursing students to be able to come and evaluate the way you eat, your knee pain or acne is something a refugee cannot afford many times," said Marina Peshterianu, office coordinator for Bridge Refugee Services, the agency that helps resettle refugees in Chattanooga. "This was very valuable to receive medical assistance in resolving the simple things."

room to improve

Like most firsts, the service-learning project came with challenges and has plenty of room for improvement.

Mrs. Wills said she would like for the students to meet their families earlier.

Mrs. Peshterianu said she would like to better explain to the students how the Bridge office can help with things such as transportation.

Justin Jones, co-sponsor developer for Bridge Refugee Services, said it helps to give refugees a better understanding of the project and how they could benefit from it.

And for the students, who gave a presentation earlier this week about their experience, the main challenge was the language barrier.

"There was a lot of gesturing, trying to communicate, when I took Eveline to the doctor's appointment," said Miss Durham. "I wish I would have bought a Swahili-English dictionary to at least know a few words."

But dealing with a different culture that speaks a different language is part of the experience, said Ms. Wills.

"We don't always have the translation that we need, so how do you give your patients what they need?" she asked. "So (now) when they encounter families who don't speak much English, they will already have some experience."

"ADOPT-A-FAMILY" PROGRAM

* As part of the service-learning requirements for the Transcultural Nursing course, students adopt a refugee family in the Chattanooga area.

* Teams of two and three nurses getting their bachelor's degrees are responsible for setting up visits with the families and spending at least 10 hours during the semester with them.

* They can do an environmental and physical assessment and can evaluate chronic or acute illnesses and medications the refugees are currently taking or how the family is functioning in its new environment.

* After all the information is collected, students choose at least one issue to focus on and collaborate with the family to resolve it.