USF nursing faculty, student practice in Africa
University of St. Francis faculty member Barb Cechanowicz of Albuquerque, N.M. and student Erika Ross of Kingsport, TN. are both on medical missions in Africa.
Barb Cechanowicz, clinical coordinator for the university’s Physician Assistant Studies program based in Albuquerque, N.M., left June 16 to work for the CURE Pediatric Neurosurgery Hospital in Mbale, Uganda to pursue her childhood dream of a medical mission to an underserved part of the world. While in Africa, Cechanowicz also plans to visit physician assistant student Erika Ross who is on a pediatric clinical rotation in Uganda and Rwanda.
Ross is the first of USF’s PA students to pursue an international clinical experience. She left for Africa on May 14 and will be participate in two separate rotations, concentrating on tropical and family medicine in Uganda and Rwanda, including in remote villages that rarely see medical personnel. Ross taught in Africa prior to becoming a student in the PA program. Her dream is to continue participating in medical missions around the world. Ross will return home at the end of July. To learn more about her African experience, visit http://erikaross.blogspot.com.
Cechanowicz plans to continue offering students international experiences, and is working on establishing a PA program at the University of Beijing, and has already had students inquire about more rotations in Africa.