Trailblazers

Nurses International:

Trailblazers for Nursing Education & Advocacy

By Alina Thomas

Nurses International is making great strides in international nursing relief and striving to bridge the gap that often leads to health care disparities. Developing regions, such as the African Republic of Burundi, have limited capacity and means to educational development.

The need for nursing educators worldwide is continuously growing, and Nurses International is transforming the way nursing educators deliver curriculum around the world. By creating nursing curriculum and educational tools for nursing programs in the developing world, they are training more nursing professionals to set forth and provide skilled assistance and spiritual inspiration to the ill, such as with their pilot project in Burundi.

Technician viewing slides at a Nurse Led Rural Clinic in Burundi

The organization is rooted in faith and centers Christ at the core of its international efforts. They ultimately communicate the message of hope, redemption, and compassion through a network of healthcare professionals who work toward transformational community development.

A friend met near the building site for the hospital

Images via Miriam Chickering, President

Dr. Amy Toone, Member of the Nurses Council

Introducing Our Team:

Dr. Amy Toone,

RN, PhD, APRN, FNP-BC

By Alina Thomas

Dr. Toone [Image via uttyler.edu]

Dr. Amy Toone, RN, PhD, APRN, FNP-BC, serves as a valuable curriculum expert and consultant on Nurses International’s Nursing Council. She provides prime insight on nursing education, as a professor and interim director for the APN programs at the University of Texas at Tyler (UT Tyler), and delivers the following perspective:

"An old African saying is that there are two things that no one can take away from you – education and your culture. Both of these items tell people where you have come from but it is what you do with them that tells the world where you are going. Assisting students on their transformational journey to the next level of nursing is truly a privilege. I look forward to helping nurses transform."

Dr. Toone served as a Family Nurse Practitioner in Tanzania for ten years and later founded the International Nursing Symposium, with both her Western and tropical medicine expertise. In March 2014, Dr. Toone assumed the role of a stateside coordinator at the “Seventh International Symposium in Continuing Nursing Education”, hosted in Limuru, Kenya.

Limuru, Kenya [Image via weather-forecast.com]

Conference delegates included nurses and nurse practitioners working in an international setting, with goals to update and broaden their nursing knowledge through diverse viewpoints.

[Image via nursingsymposium.net]

With thorough international nursing education and mission experience, Dr. Toone has detailed her perspective in academic journals and provides skilled insight to our Nursing Council. Here, she vividly writes about her experience in Burundi and adventures in Tanzania: https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-234930409/kenya. Dr. Toone even translated learning materials into Swahili, providing a range of insight on nursing literacy and the future of international nursing education.

Thank you, Dr. Toone!

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Maureen Goes to Burundi

Nurses International in Burundi:

Maureen's Recent Mission Trip

By Alina Thomas

Toward the end of March, our liaison Maureen Lee traveled to Burundi with the objective to help interview twenty prospective students for our pilot project, Great Lakes International School of Nursing - Burundi (GLISN - Burundi). Her journey spanned 48 hours and several connecting flights. One of the biggest things that stood out to Maureen on this trip was the cultural warmth of her Burundian friends which provided such a stark contrast to the country's ongoing political turmoil. 

With referrals from local pastors and communication assistance from Partners Trust International's Dr. Isaac Mbabazi, Nurses International began to identify students who can ultimately become skilled healthcare providers, leaders and change agents in their communities. Students will receive education in healthcare, Biblical studies (through PTI), and community development. In interviewing prospective students, Maureen posed a critical question: When you go back to your villages/communities, what can you do for others? Maureen also worked closely with the organization Hope4Burundi, which provides sewing classes for Burundi's widows and orphans. 

Prospective GLISN–Burundi students

Maureen & Home Care-Burundi’s “Mama Peace”

In the second week of April, Maureen returned to the U.S. Despite facing challenges arising from Burundi's political climate, the students are hopeful that the project will begin soon. Maureen mentions it is encouraging to witness their persistence and continuous efforts.

Maureen identifies preaching and healing as the themes of her latest trip, as well as previous mission trips. As Luke 10:25-37 tells the parable of the Good Samaritan and Acts 3 exemplifies Apostle Peter's mission to heal, Maureen ultimately sets out to share the Gospel while meeting the needs of the less fortunate with her nursing expertise.  

Thank you, Maureen!

Please share this post so others can learn about and perhaps join our Nurses International community.

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http://www.nursesinternational.org/