Chamberlain College of Nursing Students Travel to Brazil on Service Project

In an effort to expand nursing education and clinical experiences, Chamberlain College of Nursing recently introduced its International Nursing Service Project to Chicago area nursing students. The project enabled baccalaureate degree nursing students from Chamberlain’s Addison campus to provide healthcare services and education to Brazilians in local impoverished communities that otherwise do not have access to care.

Gigi Melendez, MSN, RNC-OB, BSN, assistant professor at Chamberlain College of Nursing’s Addison campus, and four nursing students recently returned home from a 15-day trip to Brazil, where they provided aid for residents in the urban areas of Fortaleza and Caucaia and the remote village of Madalena. Chamberlain students and faculty also spent time collaborating with nursing students from DeVry Brasil to share best practices as both are DeVry Inc. institutions.

"These trips provide complete immersion into a different clinical environment from a cultural, physical, emotional and mental perspective,” said Melendez. "With each international trip, our students gain a deeper understanding of cultural differences, which will assist them in providing safe and quality care throughout their nursing careers.”

At the clinics, the Chamberlain team devoted much of their time to taking patients’ vital signs and treating wounds and open sores. To develop sustainable healthcare practices, the team also emphasized basic hygiene practice and infection prevention.

At a clinic in Madalena where the team focused on preventative care, Colleen Groveau, a McHenry resident and Chamberlain student, cared for a 91-year-old woman who became blind as a result of untreated cataracts. The illness is generally treatable with surgery, but the condition had claimed the woman’s eyesight because she did not have the proper resources to seek medical care.

"While I was checking the woman’s blood pressure, she held my hand and began speaking in Portuguese,” said Groveau. "The translator explained the woman felt so special that I visited her and traveled from far away to provide care. It was a life changing experience for me to see how appreciative she was of our healthcare attention.”

Building on more than 120 years of excellence in nursing education, Chamberlain College of Nursing is committed to providing the educational foundation and extensive and diversified clinical opportunities that graduates need to become competent, innovative and empowered nursing professionals. The International Nursing Service Project is a part of Chamberlain’s expanding experiential learning program, in which students can expand their education through a full spectrum of social, cause-related and field experiences, while earning course credit. In order to participate in a service project, Chamberlain students must have a minimum 3.0 grade point average, have completed 300-level medical-surgery courses and submit an application and a letter of recommendation from a clinical faculty member. Chamberlain also offers similar nursing service projects in Bolivia, Kenya and Uganda.

For more information on Chamberlain College of Nursing’s International Nursing Service Project, visit www.chamberlain.edu/serviceproject.

About Chamberlain College of Nursing

Chamberlain College of Nursing offers bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in nursing. Campuses are currently located in Phoenix, Arizona; Jacksonville and Miramar, Florida; Addison and Chicago, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; Columbus, Ohio; Houston, Texas; and Arlington, Virginia.

Chamberlain College of Nursing is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, ncahlc.org. HLC is one of the six regional agencies that accredit U.S. colleges and universities at the institutional level. The Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program at the Addison, Arlington, Chicago, Columbus, Houston, Jacksonville, Phoenix and St. Louis campuses and the Master of Science in Nursing degree program are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE, One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 530, Washington, DC 20036, 202.887.6791). The Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program at the St. Louis and Columbus campuses and the Associate Degree in Nursing program are accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC). The Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree programs at the Phoenix and the Addison campuses are candidates for accreditation by NLNAC. Candidacy is the first step toward NLNAC accreditation (NLNAC, 3343 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 850, Atlanta, GA 30326, 404.975.5000). Accreditation provides assurance to the public and to prospective students that standards of quality have been met.

Chamberlain College of Nursing 2450 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 22202 is certified to operate by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, 101 N. 14th Street, 10th Floor, James Monroe Building, Richmond, VA 23219, 804.225.2600. Chamberlain College of Nursing has provisional approval from the Virginia Board of Nursing, Perimeter Center, 9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 300, Henrico, VA 23233-1463, 804.367.4515.

Program availability varies by location. Chamberlain reserves the right to update information as it becomes available. Information is current at the time of posting. For the most updated accreditation information, visit chamberlain.edu/accreditation. For comprehensive consumer information, visit www.chamberlain.edu/studentconsumerinfo.

Chamberlain College of Nursing, LLC is a part of DeVry Inc. (NYSE: DV), a global provider of educational services. ©2011 Chamberlain College of Nursing, LLC. All rights reserved. www.chamberlain.edu.