By: Kelly Jasiura

Duke University School of Nursing (DUSON) highlighted its commitment to global health when it hosted a visit of 12 students from Teamwork City of Hope (TCOH) on Thursday, June 16. TCOH is a self-sustaining campus dedicated to providing education, health care, leadership development and a nurturing family-oriented environment to orphaned children in rural Tanzania.

Dorothy Powell, EdD, RN, FAAN, professor emerita and former associate dean for the Office of Global Health and Community Initiatives (OGACHI), established DUSON’s relationship with TCOH during her time at the school. TCOH is now one of the many sites that ABSN students can choose from to take part in a global clinical immersion experience. During their time at TCOH, ABSN students implement community health principles and practices, including health promotion and disease prevention and intervention with the children.

“DUSON’s relationship with TCOH is a reciprocal relationship. We’re partnering to make the world a better place and it’s an opportunity to connect people,” said Powell.

The 12 children who visited DUSON are attending school in the U.S. on a generous scholarship from Mountain Mission School in Grundy, Va. Their day at DUSON was incorporated into a week- long visit to Union Baptist Church. They were also joined by the co-founder of TCOH, Regina ChaCha, who is the wife of the late Dr. John ChaCha who also founded TCOH; her two daughters; and a chaperone from the church.

The purpose of the visit was to help the children learn more about health careers and education and also to reconnect with ABSN students who recently visited Tanzania and TCOH through their global clinical immersion experience.

While visiting Duke, the children began their day sharing stories and photos with the ABSN students who recently returned from Tanzania. They also had a chance to tour the campus, seeing sites such as the Sarah P. Duke Gardens, the Duke University Chapel, Cameron Indoor Stadium and the Schwartz-Butters Athletic Center. They then engaged in a faculty-led health careers panel, where doctors, nurses, a physician assistant and a pharmacist discussed their work in the health care field and shared their advice on how to achieve success in this line of work.

Lastly, the students were given a tour of the Center for Nursing Discovery, where they were able to listen to the heartbeats and breathing rhythms and find the pulses of the mannequins. They were also taught the importance of and techniques to improve hand hygiene.

In addition, the students were invited to a luncheon given to honor the Ahmadieh family who has provided generous support for Duke University and the School of Nursing, specifically to the Center for Nursing Discovery. There, the students performed for the Ahmadieh family and invited guests, singing and dancing to a traditional Tanzanian song.

“This is a very proud moment and a dream. I just love what Duke is doing here,” said Aziz Ahmadieh.

The students concluded the day’s events discussing what they learned from their visit, most importantly the value of hard work when pursuing a career in health care or any other field they may be interested in.

“These types of events only serve to strengthen Duke’s programs and add to the School’s high standing in the Duke entity,” said Powell. 

View more photos here.