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Editor's Notes

1. Hi, My name is Carol Daniel. I am a professor at Missouri State University in the U.S. and one of the organizers of this project. It is a delight for me to invite you to work alongside students in the U.S. and Finland on a project that we are very excited to have you participate. But before we begin, please let me tell you a little about myself.
2. I spent most of my childhood in Arkansas, moving only the last two years of high school to Nebraska and then to Memphis, TN. That was a move from a rural setting to more metropolitan area. After high school, I spent two years in a small liberal arts junior college taking pre-nursing classes and then transferred to the State College of Arkansas where I earned my BSN (bachelor of science degree in nursing) After school and becoming a RN, I worked in a small 100 bed-hospital for about a year before moving to Texas to work in a much larger hospital for another two years. Later my husband & I moved to Fresno, CA, where the hospital was even larger and the advances in health care were challenging. Most of the work that I was involved with during that time frame was in critical care nursing. While I was in Fresno, I began work on my master’s degree in community mental health. Before I completed my thesis, we had moved to Seattle, Washington, and then on to the Chicago area. Over the course of the next 17 years, I enjoyed raising a family of three children and moving a few more times, from an urban area to a somewhat more relax rural area within the U.S. to Washington, D.C. area and then to Missouri. Beginning in the late 1990’s, I returned to work exclusively in the community. For many years I served as a pediatric home health nurse before becoming an educator in 2004 when we officially made our residence in Springfield, Missouri.
3. So why am I a nurse? The favorite doctor and role model was my Dad. As a doctor, he cared deeply for the individual patient and the family that that patient was a part of. Many of the tasks that he did as a young doctor are things that today’s nurses perform. He recognized that health care was so important to the population of each community where he worked. He understood that one must treat the individual, but also the collective whole. I love being a nurse. At Missouri State University, we have a motto of “follow your passion, find your place”. I think that sums up my desire for nursing. My passion lies in providing meaningful healthcare and for now, my place is in educating the next generation of nurses.
4. Missouri State University is located in Springfield, Missouri, in the heart of the U.S. I have worked at Missouri State University as a clinical supervisor for the past 10 years, primarily in community health nursing. Beginning in the fall of 2011, I began working as the primary clinical instructor for the Community Health Nursing course in addition to the supervision of students in two community clinical components. Students in the U.S. combine the didactic and clinical components of a course and extend the time that they are in the course to 18 weeks.
5. My expectations and concerns about this project? It is inspiring to meet and learn about others from different backgrounds, cultures and internationally. As one of your instructors, my desire is to add to both your & my understanding of global health care issues. Included with those issues are the disparities encountered along the way. My desire is to empower you, the students, to think about the community in global and holistic terms. Concerns? Just how much time will you need, familiarity with the internet, and can we properly engage your talents in this project. But, I am confident that you will lead us into new understandings. Thanks in advance!
6. So, welcome to the Global Health Perspectives Project! We want you to feel comfortable with the internet, challenged by your community assessments, challenged to read each other’s papers and projects, being sensitive to exposure of cultural differences and similarities! Enjoy this adventure and remember that we are one big community, and health care for all is a primary goal.
7. We cannot say it often enough, if you are in doubt about your work in this project, please talk with your instructor. We want open and honest reflections along the way. So, for now…let’s begin!