A Trip To Kenya Reframed What Nursing Means

You can prepare for the clinical work, pack the supplies, and review the protocols and still feel completely unprepared for what poverty looks like up close. That’s what makes Camila’s story stick. She’s an ICU bedside nurse and case manager in Texas, originally from São Paulo, Brazil, who became a nurse at 40 after learning English as an adult. She joins us to talk about a Kenya medical mission trip with 410 Bridge that becomes one of the most meaningful experiences of her nursing career.

We walk through what international service learning actually looks like on the ground: setting up clinics across rural villages and schools, working alongside teachers and mental health professionals, and leaning hard on health education when resources are limited. Camila shares the most common conditions her team sees, including dehydration during months without rain, upper respiratory infections, dental decay, pneumonia, and severe eye disease like cataracts and glaucoma. We also talk about why oral hygiene supplies and simple training can create long-term impact when medications and dressings run out.

The conversation goes deeper than logistics. Camila describes the emotional weight of identifying serious problems you can’t fully fix, the surprise of encountering genuine joy in communities facing extreme scarcity, and the way faith and human connection help her stay steady. Coming home triggers guilt and a new awareness of healthcare waste in the United States, plus a renewed commitment to nursing as a calling that reaches far beyond hospital walls. If you care about global health, cultural competence, medical missions, and the real-world ethics of service, this one will challenge you in the best way.

Subscribe so you don’t miss the next conversation, share this with a nurse or student who’s on the fence about serving abroad, and leave a review with the one insight you’re taking into your own practice.

I also want to thank our listeners for joining us as it is our goal to not only share with you our guest’s introduction to international healthcare, but also to share with you how that exposure to international healthcare has shaped their future path in healthcare. As true patient advocates, we should all aspire to be as well rounded as possible in order to meet the needs of our diverse patient populations. 

As a 50+ year nurse that has worked in quite a variety of clinical roles in our healthcare system, taught healthcare courses for the past 20 years at the university level, and has traveled extensively with my students on international service-learning trips, I can easily attest to the fact that healthcare focused students need, and greatly benefit from the opportunity to have hands-on experiential healthcare experiences in an international setting! I have seen the growth of students post travel as their self-confidence in their newly acquired skillsets, both clinical and cultural, facilitates their ability to take advantage of opportunities that previously may not have been available to them. By rendering care internationally, and stepping outside one's comfort zone, many more doors of opportunity will be opened.

Feel free to check out our website at www.islonline.org, follow us on Instagram @ islmedical, and reach out to me @ DrH@islonline.org

Transcript

Welcome And Meeting Camila

Dr. H 0:11

Well hey there, I am Dr. Patrick Hickey, or Dr. H, as many of my students refer to me. I want to welcome you to another episode of the International Service Learning Experiential Medical Education Podcast. During each episode, I will be interviewing healthcare-focused students and faculty from high school to university that have had an opportunity to participate in an international service learning trip. Additionally, I will be discussing the benefits and challenges to international service with healthcare professionals that have served abroad, as well as industry leaders in healthcare, education, study abroad, spirituality, and those living in the countries being served. Just to let everybody know, Camila and I have not met in person until actually today, face to face. We're doing a Zoom session. I actually reached out on LinkedIn probably a few weeks ago, just wondering if anybody on LinkedIn had done service learning medical mission trips, and I was I was pleasantly surprised by a few people who had popped up and had shared their stories already on LinkedIn. So I reached out to Camila as a total stranger, and she was so warm in her response to me. I mean, it was uh I think the day that we actually spoke on the phone, I I shared with people I had a smile from ear to ear because because of meeting her and chatting with her. And we don't have enough Camille's in the world, that's for sure. And I've been very fortunate to uh to meet her and now face to face with her today. And and so the the neat thing about today's podcast is in the past I've been interviewing a lot of students that have been with me and and colleagues, and and Camila's a total stranger, but we become friends quite quickly. And she's gonna share with you her story today with all of us. And if you don't mind, Camila, just tell us a little bit about yourself and then we'll get into some of the uh details about your your experience.

Camila 2:08

Uh thank you, Dr. Hickey, for having me. I am really glad to be here. My trip to Kenya was uh truly one of the most meaningful experiences of my nursing career, and I am so glad to be here and share what I have learned. I am currently a bedside nurse in an ICU setting for one of the biggest hospitals in Texas called Texas Health Resources. I'm also running a position as a case manager for another hospital for Texas Health, which is in another city. So I'm holding two positions right now that complement each other. Being as a bedside nurse has really brought me to my niece. I would say that as a nurse, I have experienced one-on-one what is to be with patients in their most vulnerable times. And that actually led me to try and think about trying different things in nursing. That's how I went into cases management, and that's how I end up actually working in my MBA. I really wanted to understand how our healthcare system works from a deeper level so I could better assist my patients and support my families.

Dr. H 3:17

Now, Camila, you have an accent. Can you tell us where that comes from?

Camila 3:21

I am from São Paulo, Brazil. I was born and raised in Brazil. I came to the US already as an adult. At 25 years old, my primary language is Portuguese. I was blessed to learn some Spanish here in Texas. We have a lot of Spanish speakers. So currently Portuguese, Spanish, and trying to learn English.

Dr. H 3:42

Well, we we greeted each other. I initially greeted Camila with Tudobon.

Camila 3:47

Tudo bon.

Dr. H 3:50

Which is a greeting in Portuguese that I learned when I traveled in Brazil. And and tell us about your nursing uh career. You joined nursing later in life, is that correct?

From Brazil To Nursing At 40

Camila 3:59

Yes, I never really went to college until I was 35 years old. My opportunity, I found it here in the US. Once my children went to school, I decided to go to school as well. And the first day I entered school was to learn English. And I decided to go into nursing after a very personal experience that I went myself. I was a patient for a hospital here in Dallas. And that experience had brought me to the realization that that was something I wanted to do. I wanted to become a nurse. And at 40 years old, I graduated with my bachelor's degree in nursing. I am blessed for the opportunity. This is something that I always wanted to do. That dream that you had when you were a child, I one day I wish I was a nurse. It came to fruition when I was already 40 years old.

Dr. H 4:49

Well, uh, we're blessed to have you in nursing also. I mean, to have someone so passionate to join nursing. And I appreciate that you share that you you joined nursing at a later age. You know, we're so used to seeing 17, 18-year-olds going into nursing. But you know, over the years, and this is my 50-year anniversary of being a nurse this year, actually, so many times I've heard over the years when I spoke to adults like yourself. You know, I I always wanted to be a nurse, but but you know, I put my kids in front of me and and I wanted to do, I was, I wanted to make sure they had what they need. And then once that's done, then they are selfish in a good way and they take care of themselves. In your case, now it's time for me to become a nurse.

Camila 5:30

Exactly. I am also very fortunate that I have my husband's support. As a military personnel, he was always in and out of the country. He has been serving in the Air Force for almost 30 years now, currently retiring. But once he was, you know, overseas, and I told him I am going to school, he fully supported me. We both share the sense of service. And I am incredibly fortunate that my husband supported me to do that. And I was able to have my kids in school while I was also in school. Everything worked perfectly fine for me, time-wise.

Dr. H 6:07

Well, well, thank you so much for your husband's service. I mean, for for you know, representing us well in the United States and and for both of you having a service heart. That's that's so so integral to success, especially when when one is supporting the other as they go to school and managing kids. That that is a challenge, and and and it's nice that you have that symbiotic relationship where where both of you support service and and helping each other. That's your your role modeling here today, which is great. More people need to hear that. And now you're working on your master's or you're finished up. I I I apologize.

Camila 6:42

I finished. I graduated this December, 2025. In fact, I'm gonna walk at the the stage uh in May in the Boston University. Um I'm incredible.

Dr. H 6:54

Was your pursuit of the master's to help with nursing?

Camila 6:58

Primarily, no. I actually have my own business. I have run an online business for over 20 years now. And so primarily I went into MBA thinking how could I grow my business and do that on the side of nursing? Because honestly, nursing is not a career that I follow as for making money. Nursing is not my job. I truly leave nursing as my passion, is my calling. When I am at work, I am truly there to serve people. I used to say that is my spiritual call because when I'm there, I feel like I am serving God as I'm serving people. So I told my husband, I say, Well, I'm gonna grow the business on the side. Let me go work on my MBA and try to make some money with our business. But then as I'm going through my MBA, I realized that he was helping me both ways. He was helping me to also market in my business, but at the same time, I was learning so much. We had incredible modules, what involved medical education. We had incredible doctors, CEOs, presidents, people involved within the medical field that taught us a lot. The MBA at the Boston University was very integrative. We worked a lot in groups. It was impossible not to put my MBA into practice in my career, in my nursing career as well. So I started noticing that I was paying attention more to the expenses, the waste, the risks that we are taking as business, and how we could better serve our communities. And that's how I started asking how I can really better assist my patients and my families, especially in transition of care. They leave the hospital, where do they go? A lot of patients concerned about Medicare, Medicaid. I wanted to understand more. And my MBA definitely was catalyst on pushing me to go into case management. I'm enjoying this role very much so.

Dr. H 8:50

That's kudos to you for pursuing higher education. And that and that's something that I learned early in life that uh I was always taught by my nursing faculty higher education equals saving more lives or more positive patient outcomes. And in your case, you're looking at the financial side, the risk management side, and now as part of case management, that's huge. I mean, you know, with with our push to get patients out of the hospital quicker and they're they're not in a in a good place, you know, it's it's integral that the case management people know how to help family with durable medical equipment, know how to help family to utilize resources in the community when their family members are being discharged probably earlier than they should be. So the business degree helps in that respect. So again, you know, kudos to you for pursuing that. Tell us a little bit about 410 Bridge. This this is the organization that that you uh went with on your trip, and tell us about where you went.

Camila 9:50

The first time I heard about Fortin Bridge was actually through my local church, one community church. I heard that Fortan Bridge is a nonprofit organization, and they are all over the world fighting poverty. And they were making a trip going to Kenya as a medical mission trip. And when I I heard that they were doing that, I knew I had to go.

Dr. H 10:11

So what is 410 Bridge? Is it is it faith-based, but they also have opportunities for education and for health care and a lot of other opportunities?

Camila 10:20

Is that partnership mostly with churches that provides the handwork where they go?

Dr. H 10:28

So tell us about your trip to Kenya. Where did you go? How long were you, and and what was your team composed of?

Camila 10:36

My medical team from one community church, we were a total of 26 people. We had two doctors, four registered nurses, one nurse practitioner, and a very large group of women to support our ministry, to support our medical team. There were teachers, there were social workers, there was uh mental health professionals. So on a on a daily basis, we set up these clinics on very different villages. They were very far from each other. And we would assess patients, we would provide treatment when possible if we had the resources, because not all cases we had it. And we mostly important provide education to these villages. If we go to a school, for example, we would gather the teachers and we will provide education to the teachers, how they would provide care to their children, usually care related to wounds, or to identify a upper respiratory infection or even an emergency, such as CPR or seizure. We also provide education on hydration, the importance of hygiene, and we were very big about oral care. We are we are blessed to have our community here in Dallas to support us to take over 200 pounds worth of toothpaste and toothbrushes. And we were able to equip all these schools with enough to start oral care in those schools.

ICU Work Case Management And MBA

Dr. H 12:09

That that's so great to hear. For years I've been doing the same, bringing toothpaste and toothbrushes and floss. And but but I appreciate what you just shared, education. Education is so important. And I know on my trips, a lot of students a couple of weeks after we get back, will be a little despondent because the medicines we prescribe, the the treatment, like you said, dressings for wounds and things who were infected, you know, that's already passed, and and they're worried that that maybe the patient isn't in a better place. And I always try to reassure them that the best thing we gave them was education. We educated them on how to empower themselves to care for themselves. And you and you just mentioned hydration and and wound cleaning. You know, if if they don't know, excuse me, how to properly hydrate. You educated them on what to do. If they don't know how to properly treat a wound or clean a wound, you educated them on what to do. So that's that's what stays with them. You know, the again, the the dressings you applied and the medicines, they're gone. Exactly. But the education remains. Besides the wound infections and and and hydration issues, what were some of the medical issues that were most prevalent that you saw, maybe the top two or three things that you saw amongst all the people?

Camila 13:25

I would say that most issues, most conditions were related to lack of water, lack of resources. So we saw a lot of upper respiratory infection. When we were there, they have not had rain for about four months. Wow. And they don't have plumbing, they don't have electricity, and they depend on the rain to fill their containers with water and have access to water. So they were severely dehydrated, many cases of upper respiratory infection. We had some very bad cases of glaucoma, blindness, cataracts. We found a few kids with pneumonia. I assess one little kid with absent sounds in their lungs, and I actually rushed that little kid to the doctor in our team. Like, what else can we do for this kid? And thankfully, we were able to do something. But mostly was related to not having water and not having proper hygiene, a lot of a dental decay. It was it was a lot.

Dr. H 14:27

Were you prepared, Camila, for what you encountered, what you saw? I mean, did the the team before you left prepare you? This this is what you were seeing, or or was it a shock?

Camila 14:39

I'm glad that you asked that because clinically we were very prepared. I feel like the education that we receive here in the United States, it's it's very comprehensive. There's really nothing that we saw that we are not either prepared for or we have heard of it, we have studied about it. We were we were truly prepared clinically, but uh emotionally I don't think so. I don't think anything could actually prepare us for what we saw. You think you are, but once you were there and you experienced that one-on-one, you realize, oh boy.

Dr. H 15:14

Now you shared the story of the young child with lack of breath sounds, and that was surprising in itself. But what was the most surprising thing that you encountered and and and then what was the most challenging thing that you encountered during your time?

Choosing 410 Bridge And Kenya

Camila 15:29

The most surprising thing to me was actually how how joyful these people were. And I was quite confused. I was like, how how can this be? There's people in this condition living in such a poverty, like below poverty level, lower sources, and they were they were so joyful. They were so genuinely grateful. That was really shocking to me because I was I was prepared to give them comfort and helping them, but and I was, and we were, but at the same time, I was like, wow, how it's possible that these people live in such a condition and they're so joyful and so they are they are doing great. Uh, for example, I saw a kid, this boy came to me, he was about 16 years old, and his name was the same name as my son. So immediately we connected. And this young man came to me complaining of headaches. And I was thinking, oh, it's just a headache, right? But I in my assessment, I immediately noticed that his eyes were not falling. So I just wrote a few words on a board and I was like, Can you read this? And he was like, No. I said, What color is this board? He could not even see their board. So I realized I was thinking maybe he needed glasses. As I go further with my assessment, I realized that this boy already lost the vision on his left eye completely. He was blind on the left eye. So the right eye was working harder to try to keep it up. And I was like, Well, your headache is probably related to loss of vision. So it was very challenging to me once I identify the problem that there's really not much I could do. I cannot prescribe glasses for this kid. I was like, Can I refer him to go see an ophthalmologist? And there was a Kenyan doctor in our team, and she was like, Yes, you can actually write a letter and we will send it to Nairobi, and we're gonna try to get him to come and see an ophthalmologist. That was the best I could do. But to be honest with you, I felt like, wow, what else can I do? I wish I could do more.

Dr. H 17:30

Well, you you did a lot with, first of all, diagnosing the issue this poor person had lived with for some time. And and and you work within the system by them writing the letter and and facilitating him to be followed up. But what you what you talked about just moments ago, that joy that the family has that you weren't prepared for that. That that is one of the reasons why I put this podcast together because people don't realize that. And and I've experienced that same joy that that you've seen with families that are in dire poverty. And and it kind of blew me away in the beginning. Like, how can these people how can these families be so happy and carefree, but yet they're living in such poverty? And and it's it's it's a shock to my students. I I try to prepare my students for that potential inevitability of seeing that, and but nothing can really prepare you until you go into it. And and it it is amazing. I think a lot of it has to do with we have so much here, but we're never happy enough. They don't have anything, but it's the family unit and the love for the family that that keeps them together, and they get by with next to nothing.

Camila 18:41

Exactly.

Dr. H 18:42

And we can learn so much from so much in in those conditions. So it's it's beautiful that you're able to share that experience with us. What was it like working with the local healthcare professionals? So you brought your team over, and did you collaborate with some healthcare professionals on that side also?

Camila 19:01

Yes, Fortune Bridget did an incredible job. They connected the local health care department and let them know that we were coming. So, how can we help you? Is there anything specifically? So the government of Kenya, the region where we are, provided us with one doctor, one nurse, boxes and boxes and boxes of medication that they received as donation from other entities around the world, and they didn't know what to do with that. So they brought all of that to us, including vaccines, and they were like, How can you help us? So we set up these clinics, and they brought the medication, they brought the vaccines, and we set up groups for vaccines, set up for kids that were most sick that we would be able to actually give them medication. And we set up clinics for mental health and dental care. They provide all the resources that we needed, and we provided the handwork. And I would have said most importantly, the passion to help, because we were on fire. I love to see how the doctor was so open to learn. That actually blew my mind. Not very used to this in the US. The doctor was curious how we didn't care. How did we how did we do the lavage in the nasal passages of the children? They were in they were interesting to learn. And it was such an incredible uh experience sharing with them what we knew. We felt like, oh wow, we can actually make a difference here, right? Teaching the nurse, for example, how she could probably cut the tabs for wound care and be more efficient in providing wound care for several kids at the same time. Because she wouldn't expend like an hour, an hour and a half providing wound care for one kid. The way we teach them how to do it, they were able to do five kids at the same time.

Dr. H 20:55

Yep. Efficiency was well, it is amazing. Efficiency and and how we share, how we share not saying that their system isn't good. Correct. And again, as I said earlier, we can learn a lot from them, they can learn a lot from us also. But if we go in willing to share and and not not be adamant, like I know it better, you need to do it this way, you can do it in a nice way to say this will probably help you. And and I like the case you just the experience you just uh shared with us, that instead of taking an hour for one person, you can maybe take the same time frame but teach five people at the same time. I mean that's just more efficient. That that's huge. So it's neat that you saw that difference in the healthcare system. And I know recently we had a international health care service team in excuse me, in Belize where Gap year university students who are probably already accepted into medical school were able to collaborate with Belize and med students and and were able to share information between each other. So and you know that's that's the beauty of healthcare if we all Collaborate together, if we all share our experiences, we have much better patient positive outcomes, and that's what it's all about. How did you deal with the culture shock yourself? I mean, I I know you said they tried to educate and prepare you for yourself, but there's probably not a whole lot they could do to prepare you for some of the the poverty and the and the stressful situations that you encountered. Is that correct?

Clinic Days Education And Common Illnesses

Camila 22:23

That is correct. I'll be very honest with you. I had to rely a lot on my faith because when I did feel overwhelmed, and there was absolutely nothing I could do for somebody who was either blind or a situation that I didn't have the resources. I either prayed with that patient or I prayed by myself. And I'll be honest, it made a huge difference. Providing emotional and spiritual support to those kids and to those mothers and to those fathers was incredibly helpful for both of us. It was an exchange of faith and hope. So in my practice, I rely on my faith a lot. They helped me a lot when I was there. Cultural, I will be honest, it was not really a shock to me. I don't know if it's because I'm from Brazil. Our culture is very relatable to the Kenyan culture. For example, how we are affectionate. We are very touchy. We like to hug and touch each other. We also share a lot of our food, it was very similar, the way we eat, the way we prepare our food. So I felt I felt quite home when I was in Kenya. It was not a totally stranger to me.

Dr. H 23:37

Well, I appreciate that you shared the the faith aspect. And when I taught nursing, I always shared with my students how uh faith and healthcare, they're so symbiotic. And when you have somebody in a hospital scenario and and you know uh they have a terminal disease, and uh if they don't have God in their life, they may be looking for God or some some spiritual support. And and and it's important that our that our healthcare faculty or or or professionals be available and and if they feel uncomfortable, find someone else that's that's more attuned to that person's spiritual needs. Very true. It does make a big difference. And it does. And I like also that you spoke about touch. I also bring that up in my classes that it's it's so important to learn how to reach out and touch a patient, how to make that connection. And myself in my practice, I typically will reach out and I'll put my hand on a shoulder and I'll just kind of rub the shoulder, how are you doing today? Are you okay? I'm making a human contact. And in our case, if we got someone laying in a sterile bed in a sterile environment and no one's touching them, they're they're missing that. They they don't have that. So each of us in our own way has to become comfortable with touch. And and I do share with my students when we go on our Latin American trips, especially, I say, watch the doctor, watch how the doctor he or she interacts with the patient, how they talk about the family and they ask very personal questions, and they they touch the shoulder or they hold their hand. And and again, this is something that they don't see enough of here in the United States, but it's something that we can learn, and we can bring that into our own practice, as what you've just shared, that you bring into your own practice. And that's I agree. That makes a huge difference. I mean, you know, when when you're hugging on a patient or when you're sore to see them leave the hospital, because we become, I mean, in my in my experience, we become family with our patients because we get to connect with them, we get to know them, we get to know the names of their children, their husband, their their spouses, and and and we can't we we can't we can't leave them go without being sorry to see them go. We're happy that they leave the hospital, obviously, when they're being discharged, because we would rather have them at home with family, but it but it tears a little bit uh out of our heart, at least out of my heart, each time someone does go because I I made a connection with them.

Camila 26:03

Very true.

Dr. H 26:05

And you were able to make a connection with your patients in in your in this country in in a relatively short time frame, I'm sure.

Camila 26:13

I did. And we did. Many of our area, you know, in our medical team, most of us were able to do that connection. I think we spent enough time with those people, we wouldn't stay about a whole day with a school or in a village, to the point that we would have we were also able to sit down with them while they were preparing their food. And in the in the Kenya culture, when you were preparing the food, they wanted to sit with them and you prepare the food together, hands on it. And then you were sharing a story. And I remember one of these ladies she asked me, one of the mothers there, she asked me, Do you have any advice for me? And I was quite confused at first, or I want to make sure that I wouldn't address her question properly. I asked her advice in which area of your life. She was like, in general. And I was, I was, you know, she was a mom, I was a mom. So you were just two real friends sharing life. And I was as a mother, I was like, you know, I just I advise you that if in life you ever feel overwhelmed and you don't know what to do about something your kid is sick, and you don't have the resources, or your husband is far away, uh you rely on your faith. You know, you can always reach out to God and we share that experience. And she was so touched by, I was touched by as well, because we were really just being two human beings, connecting over, preparing food together. And when we left also in her culture, she gave me a bracelet that she did it by herself, by hand. She put it in my hand and she said, Now we are family. I'll be honest with you, I had tears in my eyes. That meant to me so much. Because so often with my patients, I want to tell them, I feel like you're a family to me. This patient was my mom, or it was like taking care of my own dad. But here in the US, we're more careful in going to that level.

Dr. H 28:06

Yeah. And then yeah, I mean, we could talk a long time about that topic right there. And and I don't know how I don't know how to how to solve that, but I I think sometimes we we avoid getting too connected to our families or our patients, I mean, because it does tear a little bit out of our heart every time someone, and I hate to say it, dies on us, you know, you get really connected, and that same patient's there for day after day after day, and you come to work the next day and they're not there, and you find out they passed during the night. Your your emotions are still there, but you've got to go on. You've got another patient in the bed and you've got to keep going on. Then that just hurts after a while. And I think I think a lot of nurses suffer from a traumatic, post-traumatic stress disorder from having to deal with it and having to put it aside and not talking about it enough. And yeah, we could have a long discussion about that. True. Speaking about emotions, what were your emotions like when you when you came back home? Was it was it hard to readjust after what you had just experienced?

Joy Amid Poverty And Limits Of Care

Camila 29:09

Oh boy, yes. At first I felt really out of place. Like for two or three days, it was really hard to be like, okay, I'm back. And then I started feeling guilt for a few weeks. I quite felt guilt. I would have gone to a restaurant and feel like, wow, look at all this food. Or we would have just walked in the streets and I would look for all these houses. And I start remembering of this lady in Kenya asking me, so in the village, where you live, are the villages close to each other? And it was hard to explain to her that we don't live in villages. And even putting trying to put into the proportion of what a city is or a state or a county. It was hard for them to even understand because they live in such a different system. And I would have walked around and looked at all these big homes, and I felt guilt. I felt like, wow, I have so much. We have so much because people really don't have nothing, they have just less than basics. And I I really started questioning, and I still to this day, I'm still researching a lot on their system and what else can I do to help? What can I bring to help them? I'm still dealing with that.

Dr. H 30:23

That's that's a a challenge I deal with all the time, and and I appreciate you sharing that. And then it's a it's a challenge that I experience with my students. You typically a couple of weeks or a month after the trip, they're very despondent. And and and they say, Dr. Hickey, I feel so uncomfortable. I've got a cell phone, I've got a car, I've got a beautiful home, I've got all this stuff, and these people have nothing. You know, what what more can I do? And just the fact that you're asking that question is is great because it spurns you on to want to do more and and to plant that seed with other people. And to do what you're doing today, sharing your story. And and you know, uh, more people need to know that there is a great need, and there's a great need for more people like yourself and myself and others to go and and try and meet that need as best we can. What about the trip? How does that change your perspective on our healthcare system? I mean, you saw their healthcare system. Do you have a better appreciation for our healthcare system or or do you see more challenges with our system that maybe we're not serving enough underserved people here at home?

Camila 31:31

It made me much more aware of how much we waste here in the United States. Like we have all these incredible resources, but we waste so much while these communities don't have what they need. So now I'm thinking more of how can we manage what we have in a better way? I'm really looking into bringing this mentality into my practice, perhaps within my team or even my hospital. And is there any way that we can save some of these resources and share with them?

Partnering With Kenyan Clinicians Through Faith

Dr. H 32:04

It's a good question. It's one that's been uh asked many times. And just to that, I can share with you when I did my year of backpacking in Latin America and I came back and wanted to do something to help Hispanics, I got involved with an organization called Compañeros de las Americas, partners of the Americas. Every state in the United States has a partnership with a Latin American country. South Carolina has a partnership with Colombia, South America. When this organization that I joined found out that I was a member of healthcare, they said we need a lot of healthcare supplies. I found out that hospitals have warehouses. Warehouses have scratch and dent equipment from the hospital that they usually sell once a year. I was privileged to be able to make a list of a large amount of supplies which were given to me by the hospital. I worked with someone in my organization to ship it through the Panama Canal on a container, and then was able to go to Colombia months later and open that container and share wheelchairs, hospital beds, reclining chairs. Beautiful. Things that were scratch and dent that we had. So, yes, there are solutions. It does take a lot of work and a lot of collaboration. I mean, you've already done it by taking toothbrushes and toothpaste. At a higher level, there are opportunities for organizations to donate. Some organizations donate uh medications, and it's really hard to take medications through customs. So you have to learn where the limitations are and and then how much effort and work you can put into it. But but that's just an example of going above and beyond and actually sending medical supplies. And to date, I've been able to send large shipments of supplies. I mean it gets more and more challenging, but but to know there are opportunities. Do you feel has this affected your future careers in in healthcare? Because you're already working, you've already finished your master's now. It sounds like what you've learned, you're going to look at at waste in healthcare. I mean, and and how we can be more efficient. Is that correct?

Camila 34:12

That is correct. This is something that I'm truly investing my time into researching now. I actually I appreciate you for sharing your experience, and I hope we can talk more about it later because I really want to know what else can I do to help bring more resources to Kenya, Kenya specifically. Also, I think this experience has brought me to this very deep sense of how precious nursing really is. You know, here in the US, who we hear that nursing is truly a calling. So for my future right now, and for my future, I really hope I can inspire other nurses to go back to their root why I became a nurse and to realize that our profession is truly a calling. You know, it reinforces this commitment that I have now to help nurses to realize that their skills can really make a difference across the world. It's far beyond just inside the walls of our hospitals. If I can't inspire a nurse to step out and work with her heart towards humanity in making a global impact, if I ever get there, I'll just say that I'm walking through my calling.

Dr. H 35:31

You you're already there. Don't say if you get there. Thank you, Doctor. You're already there. Well, you know, and I again I appreciate you bring up so many pearls of wisdom. I mean, the the calling of nursing. And I used to teach one of my courses was the professionalism of nursing. So, you know, I I I spoke a lot about Florence Nightingale, and and I share with my students in my own way, again, this is my 50-year anniversary, that that nursing was a calling for me. I'm the oldest of nine kids, eight boys and one girl, didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. It was someone saw something in me that I did not know. And I and I I go back to my my roots as a Catholic, and I think you know, the the Catholicism, my upbringing, my want to help others, it it was all pieces of the puzzle falling together. And and and I truly believe in the calling, and and and I agree with you. I think each of us in our own way are doing great things, but collectively we we can do a lot more. And that's why I'm so excited to meet more nurses like yourself that have done international service. And we all, as you know, work hard in our day-to-day jobs, and we really don't need to extend ourselves to go internationally, but but we do. And when we do, we we make a huge difference. You you mentioned how you educated a lot of the people before when you were in Kenya. Yes. Right now, the uh AWAN, the Association of Women and Health and Neonatal Nursing, I I I apologize I I messed up their their exact purpose, but it's women's health and and and children's health. Awon. Yes. They have been traveling recently as a professional nursing group with through our organization and have been doing an amazing job at helping to educate mothers and and and clinicians and what to do. And I think all of us have a lot to share from our collective experiences in in nursing, and it just takes a little bit more organization. Right now, as I shared with you, I'm trying to plant a seed with our future nurses, the student nurses, and that's why I'm speaking at the National Student Nursing Association in Houston next month on the value of international service. And I think if we can start with our younger students and and get them excited about international health care, then as they step into their professional careers, they gain wonderful experience. Then if they travel abroad, they can share that experience and and empower other people to be in a better place.

Camila 37:55

Exactly.

Coming Home Guilt Waste And Next Steps

Dr. H 37:57

Camila, for students that we're talking about, andor professional nurses that we just spoke about, what would your recommendations be for them if they're they're kind of on the fence, they don't know if this would be a valuable experience, they don't know if they have what is needed to help others. What would you say to them, those people that are maybe considering doing a trip as you have done?

Camila 38:21

Go for it. Go forward and go with humility and an open heart. Be ready to learn just as much as you are going to serve. And believe me when I say you are ready to help. No matter how big or how small your skill maybe, you will make a difference. Also, I recommend people to always take in consideration cultural competence. You know, we don't go to these countries, to these places, and we expect to change their culture or to judge how they live. We go there to serve them. And if our mindset is as simple as how can I help you, you will realize that you have so much to offer. Even if it sometimes is just to hold someone's hand and pray with them or giving them a word of advice. Those were actually the greatest connections and conversations that I had. It was through connection, just being present, just being there. Go forward. It was the greatest experience of my nursing career, and I risk to say that it's it's the great experience that anyone could ever have.

Dr. H 39:35

Well, I I appreciate that. And and and I always share that nursing is servitude, that we're serving other people. And and I like also that you mentioned presence, just being there and just holding a hand. There was a TV show many, many years ago. I can't recall the name of it. It was a healthcare-focused TV show. And this one episode, I always remember it was a student nurse who had just graduated, only had a few months of experience under her belt, and the patient she was caring for was in a comatose state and wasn't going to do well. And she said to the veteran nurses, How do I talk to the mom? What can I do? And I remember they gave her a box of Kleenex and they said, just go sit down with the mom and be there for her. And then the next step, you know, the next piece of the show showed this young new nurse just sitting with the mom, putting a box of Kleenex between them, an embrace, and and just being there for that person, making human contact. And and again, sometimes that's all you need. I appreciate you showing it. Exactly. That that's really powerful. Well, any last things you want to share? I mean, it's been pretty powerful for me. I mean, I I I love my my I know this is an audio podcast, but my head's been bobbing up and down as as I acknowledge everything that you say because I've kind of been there, done that, and and really appreciate it. But what other things would you recommend other than do it, go for that you would recommend to people?

Advice For Nurses Considering Service

Camila 40:58

Thank you for the opportunity. I really appreciate being here. If I could share a little more, I wouldn't say that for all the nursing students out there, all the veteran nurses out there, no matter how many years we're in this profession, nursing is one of the most powerful professions in the world. Every single day we step into these people's lives in their most vulnerable moments. We bring them knowledge, comfort, hope. Sometimes the difference that we make are very small, but sometimes this changes life forever. Every single day, nurses want to care for someone else in that it's an incredible privilege. Mark 1045 says that for even the son of man who did not come to be served, but to serve. And as nurses, I think this verse reflects the heart of what we do every day. Thank you, Dr. Haton.

Dr. H 41:56

Well, thank you, Camila, for for sharing such a powerful impact you've made on on me, no doubt on your on your patients that you care for. Again, as I said in the beginning, we need more Camelas in our life that share that passion. What a wonderful message you've been able to share today. And uh I look forward to continued collaborations.

Camila 42:15

Thank you, Dr. Vicki. I'm honored.

Dr. H 42:18

Thank you. I want to sincerely thank our guest, Camila, for her willingness to join us on the International Service Learning Experiential Medical Education podcast. But most importantly, I want to thank Camila for the passion that she has shared with us. Camila is a great ambassador for nursing and for service learning. Her future patients and their family members will be very privileged to have her as their health care provider. I know that she will continue to make a huge difference in the lives of others, both at the bedside as well as internationally, on more service learning medical mission trips.