Falls Native Studying Abroad in Peru

Menomonee Falls graduate, Anne Hoynacki, is participating in a study abroad program in Piura, Peru this summer. 

Hoynacki is a senior at Marquette University. In Piura, she and other students will gain community clinical experience at a Catholic parish called Sacramento Santisimo and will develop a global view of health care while immersed in a new culture.

The summer program in Peru offers students nursing experiences at all levels. Sacramento Santisimo parish has a full nursing staff and a health clinic including a surgical suite for visiting teams from the United States. Marquette students will assist in pre- and post-surgical areas. Students will also work in the parish clinic monitoring pregnant women and helping with general clinic duties.

Most of the students' time in Peru will spent be working in Piura's surrounding villages to gain experience in a parish-operated hospice, to practice teaching health-related information to school children, and to provide care in emergency room and nursing home settings. Students also conduct home visits in local villages to assess problems such as hypertension, diabetes and pressure sores, as well as to help with personal care and hygiene. All of the home visits are to patients and families who are part of the caseload of the nurses employed by Sacramento Santisimo.

Dr. Darlene Weis, associate professor emerita of nursing, will lead two groups of nursing students participating in the Peru study abroad program this summer. The first group left Friday, May 31, and the second group leaves Friday, June 21. Each group will be in Piura for four weeks.

"This is truly a transformative experience for our students, and working one on one with Peruvians teaches them to observe life from another perspective," Weis said. "This program offers a unique opportunity to our students, and past participants have said it really changed their thinking about their own lives."