9 South Korean Nursing Students from Pusan, South Korea spent two days with us and many days with other members of the Health Department of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. I was surprised to learn that Western Iowa Tech Community College has an active International Programme and these students were here for three weeks to immerse themselves in American culture as well as observe the clinical practices.
I am glad they chose to come to the Indian Reservation, as they would be exposed to a more culturally oriented medical practice rather than visiting one of the established medical establishments in the city where they would be staying. There they would be just seeing a variation of the excellent medical and technological medical care they are already used to in South Korea.
They were polite to a tee, very proper, very grateful, very soft spoken and eager to learn.
It added a little spice to our daily routine as well. Of course Native American Culture and Korean Culture has many things in common.
They delighted in simple pleasures of being in the midwest such as visiting a farm, going to the water amusement park, attending a parade.
I am delighted to know of the presence of a International Exchange Programme in the city of the community college, an forgotten outpost of the American expansion in the 18th century.
I was happy to give them an introduction to the Native American Anthropology and also how we use the culture as a carrier of our health messages and treatment strategies .
After observing the various aspects of the health care at the Tribal Programmes at the Winnebago Hospital, the students uniformly said :
1. at the winnebago clinics, patients are put first. Every one tries to help the patient
they said: before we came, we thought only about nursing and not about patient
2. They were amazed how closely the doctor and the nurses worked together at our clinic and that they were amazed at the higher status of nurses at the Indian Health care facility.
Many of the students fell ill during their stay, unable to adapt to the very hot midwestern summer weather with its added humidity, the allergens in the air.
Junior Nursing Class Curriculum.
It was very interesting to listen to them about the harsh days of High School when their days started at 8 am and after the school finished at 4 pm, they went to remedial lessons and then attended Academies for extra tuition, which often went to 11 pm and sometimes until 1 am. The sleep was only 4 or 5 hours per night! That is how tought the competition is to secure a place in the Universities in South Korea. (the situation is very similar in Japan, China and Singapore)
I am glad they chose to come to the Indian Reservation, as they would be exposed to a more culturally oriented medical practice rather than visiting one of the established medical establishments in the city where they would be staying. There they would be just seeing a variation of the excellent medical and technological medical care they are already used to in South Korea.
They were polite to a tee, very proper, very grateful, very soft spoken and eager to learn.
It added a little spice to our daily routine as well. Of course Native American Culture and Korean Culture has many things in common.
They delighted in simple pleasures of being in the midwest such as visiting a farm, going to the water amusement park, attending a parade.
I am delighted to know of the presence of a International Exchange Programme in the city of the community college, an forgotten outpost of the American expansion in the 18th century.
1. at the winnebago clinics, patients are put first. Every one tries to help the patient
they said: before we came, we thought only about nursing and not about patient
2. They were amazed how closely the doctor and the nurses worked together at our clinic and that they were amazed at the higher status of nurses at the Indian Health care facility.
It was very interesting to listen to them about the harsh days of High School when their days started at 8 am and after the school finished at 4 pm, they went to remedial lessons and then attended Academies for extra tuition, which often went to 11 pm and sometimes until 1 am. The sleep was only 4 or 5 hours per night! That is how tought the competition is to secure a place in the Universities in South Korea. (the situation is very similar in Japan, China and Singapore)
