(Click on image to enlarge) A group of nursing students recently returned from a study trip to Mexico. In this photo, they are shown presenting a donation to the Red Cross Hospital in Merida, a public hospital for those without health insurance. The group also presented a check to a boys' orphanage in Merida and distributed school and hygiene supplies at the village school. The group raised money for the donations before the trip. On the front row, left to right, are Jennifer Beal and Robbie Brown. On the back row, left to right, are Brooke McPherson, Estelle Wharton, Kristen Adelman, Jennifer Richardson, Crystal Land, two Red Cross officials from the hospital, Jessica Cox, Stacy Brittain and Dr. Linda Johanson, nursing professor. Not pictured are students Kristen Burton and Sheena Newton.

Nursing students travel to Mexico
Eleven nursing students and Dr. Linda Johanson, assistant professor of nursing, recently returned from a study trip to the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.

The purpose of the three credit-hour course was to enhance Latino cultural sensitivity and awareness. The students visited an orphanage and Mayan village school, and toured the University of Yucatan School of Nursing. The group also distributed money and other needed items collected earlier in the year. Two hundred Spanish version New Testaments were distributed as well as various hygiene items and toys. Three financial donations were made to assist agencies serving people in need.

For cultural awareness, the students had a two-hour class in Hispanic culture and history, toured the city of Merida, attended two festivals and one market, went to the zoo and the beach, and took a salsa dancing class. The 10-day trip ended with a day of relaxation in Playa del Carmen.

The nursing students returned home with a greater understanding on the culture of the many Latino patients in the North Carolina health-care system.

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