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NEWS
International Faculty Exchange
Silvia Razo Sanchez recently spent four days listening to nursing
instructors, reading through curriculum guides and watching
students in nursing labs at West Kentucky Community and Technical
College.
She
was a student with a mission – to learn as much as possible
about how to build a successful postsecondary nursing program.
 “U.S.
requirements are stricter than in Mexico,” said Sanchez,
Dean of International Programs in the School of Nursing at the
University of Autonoma de Guadalajara. “And here everything
is really organized."
Sanchez,
36, came to WKCTC as part of a continuing education program
with the University of Guadalajara. WKCTC President Barbara
Veazey and Dr. Tena Payne, nursing division chairperson, first
visited the Mexican university in March of 2003. They gave a
presentation on nursing practices and leadership to more than
50 Mexican nurses from hospitals and clinics in the Guadalajara
area.
In
March of this year, WKCTC associate professors Shari Gholson
and Claudia Stoffel also visited the University of Guadalajara
and facilitated an end of life care seminar. They met Sanchez
there for the first time.
 Sanchez
came to the United States in September through the Global Studies
and International Partnerships program started by the Kentucky
Community and Technical College System in 2001. Sanchez, on
her first professional visit to America, described herself as
a sponge, trying to soak in the many new experience and teaching
techniques she saw.
Sanchez,
who has been in nursing for 13 years, praised the facilities
at WKCTC and the classroom atmosphere, saying that teachers
here motivate their students to learn. "I think we were
sharing more about the difference in teaching experiences,"
she said.
Nursing
faculty member Sheri Gholson said she enjoyed learning more
about the Mexican culture from Sanchez, in hopes that it will
help local students as they deal with an increasing Hispanic
population here.
“It’s
so beneficial for us to have the opportunity to share with her,
her culture, their home care beliefs, the health care used in
Mexico and how we can help the hispanic population seek health
care in the United States,” Gholson said.
 Sanchez
said she would take back the new ideas to help her begin the
first international nursing program taught in English at the
University of Guadalajara. In Mexico, there are some regions
with nursing shortages, and nurses graduate to enter either
public or private health care systems. The poor seek free health
care. Those who are employed pay part of their health care costs
while their employer shoulders the rest.
Dr.
Payne said the international nursing program taught at the University
of Guadalajara will mirror that of the United States requirements
for nurses. Mexican nurses who attain a degree will be able
to work in United States hospitals and vice versa.
The
college plans to enroll students from Mexico in the fall of
2005. Sanchez is currently looking for three teachers to begin
the nursing program in Mexico.
“The
program will begin small, with approximately 40 to 50 students
enrolled, with each year adding more and more,” said Sanchez.
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