Volunteering for nursing students develops specialized communication skills. Travel programs to remote and underdeveloped countries are a positive development for medical institutions, as well as the local population, which can receive first aid. Vietnam, as a low-income country, needs the help of volunteer nurses to offer their skills and services by assisting medical staff in the city’s centers and other places where residents need medical care.
The Vietnam Nurse Practice Improvement Project started in 2007 and is a short-term volunteer program for American students lasting a few weeks. Volunteers are medical students from the United States who have completed basic training in patient care. They do not require a diploma or license, as volunteers are usually not allowed to do independent tasks with patients (Hawks et al., 2020). Therefore, their role is mostly associated with providing help to medical personnel.
Volunteer nurses are required to assist with basic traditional medicine services, such as triage, wound care, and rehabilitation. They are needed to assist doctors in general and specialized departments such as pharmacy, gynecology, obstetrics, pediatrics, etc. (Hawks et al., 2020). The Vietnam Nurse Practice Improvement Project is part of many volunteer programs in Vietnam, most of which are not government-run. Patients do not pay for such care, as it is provided on a non-commercial basis.
In conclusion, the volunteer program is aimed at low-income people who cannot get help from commercial institutions. I do not need to use such services, but I would be interested in participating in the Vietnam Nurse Practice Improvement Project itself for altruistic purposes. Such programs improve the lives of the local population and rural community as well as advance the medical skills of nursing students.
Reference
Hawks, M., Huseman-Maratea, D., Nguyen, A., Nguyen, L., & Romkema, S. (2020). International nursing leadership: The Vietnam nurse practice improvement project. Nurse Leader, 18(3), 248-252. Web.