Editor's Note: The following information was provided to Patch via a news release from Carroll University.

A group of 10 Carroll University student nurses and their mentor, Linda Phillips, clinical assistant professor of nursing, left Sunday to travel to Guatemala for eight days. They have partnered with Hearts in Motion, a nonprofit organization that provides medical treatment in Central and South America.

Phillips and one of the students, Brittany Reiland of Hortonville, Wis., conducted a research project in eastern Guatemala one year ago. That experience taught them that the greatest need of the many Guatemalans living in villages was for health-related information. The data they collected from three villages showed that locals often have the resources to meet basic needs but they need to know how to use them. Reiland and Phillips also realized that the needs in one village were often vastly different from those in a nearby village.

This spring, Phillips taught Reiland and nine other students about international health care. Phillips presented statistics and situations for analysis, and the class developed sustainable solutions. In five project teams, they will journey to the same three Guatemalan villages Reiland and Phillips studied in 2011.

The teams are:

• Reiland and Camila Anderson-Fernandez of New Berlin, Wis., who will teach villagers how to manage obstetrical complications such as post-partum hemorrhage when there are no resources such as the drug oxytocin.
• Abby Haag of Waunakee, Wis., and Stacey Griswold of Ixonia, Wis., who will teach an economical way to make water safe for drinking using locally available materials. They also will talk about diarrhea prevention and treatment in children.
• Serena Salentine of East Troy, Wis., and Lauren Doherty of Rockford, Ill., who will discuss the need for good nutrition and prenatal exams, distribute seeds and talk about ways to manage a garden in a place where water is often lacking.
• Jessica Louis of Sycamore, Ill., and Rachel Demerath of Green Bay, Wis., who will work with a Guatemalan non-profit organization to build vents on cooking stoves to decrease smoke exposure, and will talk about the harm from smoke exposure.
• Dana DeYoung of Appleton, Wis., and Ashley Wangerin of Menomonee Falls, Wis., who will work with malnourished children and thriving families, utilizing the positive deviance model by sharing resources the thriving families have developed to help those who are struggling.

Throughout the semester, Phillips has seen evidence that her students have grown as future nurses. They are now more able to care for those from a culture different than their own, and have increased their knowledge in pediatrics, obstetrics, infectious diseases, various nursing skills and examinations, community nursing and other subjects. They will gain even more from the rich international experience they are about to embark upon.

“This is a big sacrifice for the students,” Phillips said. “This was an elective course that students take during a very intense semester. Each one had to raise at least $2,300 to go on the trip. They have had to work hard to learn the material and develop their projects. Their commitment makes me want to work even harder.”