Sabbatical Awards 2005-2006

Sabbatical Report:  Mary Lou Lynch

Sabbatical Report Winter ‘06

by Mary Lou Lynch

Nursing Instructor

Initially I had 4 goals. 

1. Improve my Spanish language skills
2. Develop beginning skill as a surgical nurse
3. Participate in an organized medical care trip to a Spanish-speaking third world country
4. Conduct informal research regarding lowered anxiety level in children when speaking Spanish rather than English to children who speak only Spanish

My plans changed slightly because the medical aid trip that I had planned on participating in (a team doing surgical repair of cleft lips & palates) ended up being cancelled so I arranged to go on a trip with family practice physicians and a dentist who would be giving medical & dental care to patients of all ages. 

My goal to conduct informal research also changed.  The patient population was a mix of ages from newborn babies to ninety-year-old adults so it was difficult to cluster an adequate population of children of similar ages.  More importantly, I had not anticipated the hectic pace of the clinic.  There was simply not time or opportunity to conduct research.  I did however discover that my borderline grasp of the Spanish language offered many opportunities for language mistakes.  This actually served to breakdown cultural barriers because it gave me opportunities to share a laugh with the patients as I struggled to translate my English thoughts into Spanish.

For the clinical component of my sabbatical I spent several shifts caring for patients on the Pediatric & Adolescent Care Unit, the Mother-Baby Unit, and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  It was a great opportunity to practice performing skills that I teach on real patients.  When I teach I demonstrate clinical skills using manikins and then I observe students performing the skills on real patients.  It was reassuring to me to discover that even though I don’t usually give hands-on care to patients, I am still capable of working as a nurse.  As an aside, I found the clinical time of my leave so helpful that I applied for a Perkins Grand and worked several more shifts in the hospital caring for adult patients in a variety of settings.  I am no longer concerned with the old saying, “Those that can, DO and those that can’t, TEACH.  I now feel confident that I can both DO and TEACH.

I took two Spanish classes; a conversational class and a medical Spanish class.  The conversation class helped to put all of the vocabulary words and verbs that I have been learning into sentences and increased my confidence in my ability to carry on a conversation in Spanish.  The medical Spanish class taught me useful words like “stethoscope” and “thermometer”, and useful phrases like, “Please get on the scale”, “I’m going to take your blood pressure”, and “This won’t hurt”.

My favorite part of my sabbatical was my trip to Coxen Hole, Roatan, Honduras.  I loved being able to provide actual hands on care and getting to know the people.  I also felt very good knowing that I was offering medical care to such a needy population and that I had the opportunity to contribute to the enormous health education needs in Coxen Hole.

In the future, I will be a better teacher because I have renewed my confidence in my ability to work as a nurse and confidence in knowing that I really do understand the learning needs of my nursing students as they progress from student to practicing nurse.  I will also be a better role model for my students because I can do a better job of communicating with Spanish speaking patients.  I can also do a better job of integrating cultural diversity into our curriculum because I have had an immersed experience with a different culture.