Students from Bolivia and Peru visited the School of Nursing recently for a learning experience exploring ethics in global healthcare. The session was part of Center for Global Engagement’s grant-funded program focused on closing the gender inequality gap in the Americas.
Tracy Day, assistant director of the Intensive English Program in the Center for Global Engagement, collaborated with Assistant Professor Saleh Ahmed and Assistant Provost Gonzalo Bruce to implement Boise State’s portion of the program.
Day contacted Professor Kelley Connor about developing a session on ethics in healthcare. Connor, the director of simulation-based education and research at the School of Nursing, then wrote a case study about a pregnant woman for students to engage with.
Participants discussed the ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice as they applied to the case study. They also exchanged ideas about how to apply the same principles to real-life contexts they might experience in their home countries.
Conversations covered the topics of an individuals’ right to make choices for their health based on their own values; the imbalance of access to quality healthcare between rural and urban areas; and the equity gap in academic research of women’s and men’s health issues.
“Bodily autonomy and access to high-quality healthcare are fundamental human rights that cannot be separated from the concept of gender equity,” Day said. “We have more in common than not between the U.S. and Latin America when it comes to the inequities in healthcare services for men and women, and we have a lot of work to do to make things better in all of our countries.”
School-wide involvement
Clinical Assistant Professor Edy Zepeda facilitated the entire experience in Spanish along with Academic Advisor Maria Garcia De La Cruz. Garcia also provided Spanish-speaking talent for the case study’s pre-recorded video components.
Four students from the School of Nursing also participated, offering their perspectives from the United States and learning from the visiting students. Day expressed her gratitude for the school’s collaboration.
“[Connor] created a high-quality and super-relevant workshop for this group,” Day said. “The number of Spanish-speaking Boise State representatives that showed up for this workshop was so impressive, and the small group conversations were honest, authentic, exploratory and engaging.”
Garcia also mentioned how rewarding it was to be able to participate and witness the stimulating discussions. “I’m really glad I speak Spanish, and to be able to be a part of a unique learning experience like this,” she said.