Nothing could have prepared Ashley Wells for the challenges she encountered in Cape Town, South Africa as part of the School of Nursing’s Study Abroad program. But while her clinical experiences forced her out of her comfort zone, at the same time they honed her skills as a future nurse and solidified her desire to help those in need.

During the fourth week of her clinical experience, Wells worked with a two-year-old girl with recurrent pneumonia who was extremely shy and difficult to please. Wells, a 21-year-old senior from East Haddam, Conn., was determined to bring her out of her shell. Her attempts to reach out to the girl drew little response at first. The child simply clung to her grandfather.

Eventually, with the grandfather’s encouragement, the three began to play a game with a teddy bear and a blanket. Wells succeeded in getting a laugh out of the little girl. She says it was heartwarming for her to witness the love between granddaughter and grandfather, and to have shared in making the child’s day a little brighter.

When Wells struck up a conversation with the grandfather, intending to discuss the girl’s healthcare, she ended up with more than she bargained for. He told her the girl’s mother had died four months ago, due to complications from pregnancy. He and his wife have since been caring for the little girl as if she was their own daughter. Wells says she was moved beyond words, and felt honored to have heard the story. She hoped she had provided some of the support they needed, simply by spending time with them and listening with a caring heart.

Wells says her nursing experience in Cape Town taught her that no matter where you are, compassion is universal, and that even a small act of kindness can have a powerful impact on a patient. Medicine doesn’t always take the shape of bottles or pills; sometimes it can be found in the laughter of a little girl who is sick.

“My experience at the clinic was phenomenal,” Wells says in a recent post on a blog the nursing students maintain during their study abroad experience. “I would love to go back to volunteer sometime, because I feel like the people there have so much to offer and teach.

“There were definitely times during the day that I felt very frustrated with the language barrier, the lack of resources, or the uncertainty of how I was going to handle all of the responsibility given to me,” Wells continues. “In the end, I think that I have benefited from the experience of being in such a new and unknown environment.”

UConn’s School of Nursing offers Study Abroad programs in Cape Town, South Africa and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The programs give students the opportunity to work in a busy nursing environment while immersed in a culture different from their own. Program administrators say the real-world experience is invaluable, as the students learn new methods of administering health care to patients ranging from newborns to adults. The experience of studying abroad calls on nursing students to apply their academic education and helps them recognize their potential as caregivers and the difference they can make in patients’ lives.

Students in the South Africa program gain valuable experience, including observing c-sections, assisting doctors during surgeries, administering immunizations, and drawing blood from children infected with HIV. Many of them have commented in their blogs that they are impressed with the level of care and professionalism of the doctors and nurses they have worked with in South Africa. The students spent time at ThembaCare, a home for babies and children living with HIV/AIDS in Bridge Town; mobile clinics run by the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) in Khayelitsha township; and other community-based facilities located in schools, daycares, and outpatient clinics affiliated with hospitals.

“As international coordinator in the School of Nursing, my work with the Study Abroad/Away program has been both personally and professionally rewarding,” says Kathryn Hegedus, associate professor of nursing. “Student voices in both Cape Town and San Juan speak eloquently to their transforming life experiences documenting their intercultural humility and competence in a global world.”

Many of the young children Wells cares for are diagnosed with serious illnesses. Despite the challenge of treating the children and keeping their spirits high, Wells maintains an energetic and positive attitude. She says the resilience and cheerfulness of the kids at the hospital reinforce her love for nursing.

She says she was apprehensive about administering her first immunizations to her young patients, knowing she might make the children cry. She was surprised to find, however, that she was able to quickly adjust and get the job done correctly.

UConn’s Cape Town nursing abroad program is open to nursing students in the fall semester of their senior year. During the three month-long program, students taking maternity and pediatric courses have the opportunity to do their clinical rotations in hospitals and clinics in Cape Town and the surrounding townships. Part of the program includes visits to non-governmental agencies, whose mission is to address issues of social injustice.

The nursing students stay at a furnished house in Rondebosch, a suburb of Cape Town. The house is within walking distance of grocery shopping and the University of Cape Town, and provides easy access to public transportation. The students take a full academic course load, including classes in Nursing Leadership in the 21st Century, Pediatrics, and Maternity. Karen Breitkreuz, an assistant professor-in-residence at UConn, and Lisa-Marie W. Griffiths, a clinical professor, travel with the students and teach in South Africa. The Rev. Vernon Rose, a native of South Africa, provides leadership and immersion experiences as UConn’s international internship coordinator. He also teaches a class about South Africa.

Although other universities offer Study Abroad programs through their schools of nursing, most are located primarily in Europe or Australia. UConn is one of a small handful of schools, including the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Virginia, that offers a Study Abroad nursing program in South Africa.