Vital Signs September Issue - School of Nursing - SDSU

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SWITZERLAND
SWITZERLAND
In this picture are all the Swiss exchange students including Zoe before
going into Petco Park for a Padres game.
Would you like to take a trip to Europe next summer?
We have the opportunity to study nursing abroad for
summer 2010. SDSU SON opened its doors to a new
nursing exchange program with a few universities in
the western region of Switzerland.
What does this mean to us as nursing students? This
new exchange program will make it possible for us, as
nurses, to discover new possibilities within the nursing
profession, to learn how other countries handle
and deal with similar healthcare issues, to broaden our
cultural awareness, and to seek new and exciting experiences.
In July I had the pleasure to meet and mingle with
twelve friendly Swiss nursing students throughout
their one-month stay while they studied here. Several
nursing students and myself planned and chaperoned
many fun activities around San Diego, which included
taking them to a Padres game, Sea World, Balboa
Park, La Jolla- whale watching, kayaking, and Pacific
Beach, to name a few. It was a privilege to make new
friends; they were all open to discussing anything
from their personal lives to nursing life and so willing
to exchange their cultural views and ideas.
I discovered and got to hear firsthand from the
Swiss nursing students about some of the issues
concerning their healthcare system and ours. As one
of the Swiss nursing students, Laura Nydegger, stated,
“Nurses are more well-respected and recognized here
in the U.S. compared to nurses in Switzerland.”
Another Swiss nursing student made the point
that although every Swiss citizen has medical insurance,
the disparity is that the population of
Switzerland is comprised of only 8 million people,
whereas Los Angeles alone has 10 million
people, which provides one key explanation as to
why Switzerland and other similar countries do
not face the same healthcare problems we do. Additionally,
the Swiss students reiterated the point
that a lot of Americans don’t abide by healthy
food portions or engage in regular exercise as
much as the Swiss do, which speaks for the obesity
epidemic that we see here in the U.S.
They were a lively and fun group; I hope each one
of you think about the opportunity of going to
Switzerland next year to study nursing abroad.
Our time spent together was wonderful in addition
to being very enlightening about Swiss nursing;
they taught us a couple of Swiss games and
best of all was how one should greet a friend.
Kiss cheek to cheek three times. Let’s greet and
unite together as nurses. I wish you an exciting,
fulfilling trip to Switzerland. Watch for more
information about
how to apply for the
Swiss exchange opportunity
on the
SON website.
By Zoe Armas
3rd semester