Four Master's students in the nursing program at Tongji University in Shanghai have studied at UNMC’s College of Nursing since March 12. They presented information about themselves and their visit on March 31.
Yuanyuan "Jenny" Jin is a student in Transcultural Nursing. She says that this is important not only for the world, where there is increased interaction between people from various cultures, but also in China where there are 55 different recognized ethnic minority groups. Xiaoqing "Morning" Liu is in the Neurology Department where she works with stroke patients. Leyuan "Eden" Li is in the Nursing Management and Education department. She worked closely with Capri Juilfs and Amber Gerweck when they visited the 10th People’s Hospital affiliated with Tongji University in February and March (Story here). Zhihong "Sandy" Zhang works on cancer patient care and nutrition management.
Their visit coincided with both St. Patrick’s Day and Easter, and they were able to celebrate both of these holidays with College of Nursing faculty.
They also commented on the animals in Omaha. They visited Henry Doorly Zoo and Sheila Ryan (Ph.D., Director of International Programs at the College of Nursing)’s farm. However, they were surprised by an animal many of us take for granted: squirrels!
These four nursing students were also interested in learning about UNMC’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program. Although it has theoretically been possible to accept China Scholarship Council students into this program, licensure issues have prevented any students from joining the program.
Without a license obtained by passing the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), students cannot practice nursing in the U.S. and therefore cannot participate in many portions of UNMC’s DNP program. However, faculty at the College of Nursing have been working to develop an "Internationally Educated Nurses" program that would help Chinese nursing students pass the NCLEX and enable them to practice in Nebraska. We hope that their efforts are successful so we can see Jenny, Morning, Eden, and Sandy join UNMC’s DNP program in a few years!