Kristen Elmore and other nursing students help those in need in Uganda

In August and December 2011, undergraduate and graduate College of Nursing students traveled to Uganda with the Palmetto Medical Initiative (PMI) to provide healthcare to those in need. Those students included Accelerated BSN students Lisa Carraher, Sarah Didow, Kristen Elmore, Margaret (Sosnowski) Lawrence, Lindsey Palmer, Anne Powell, Jenelle Quenneville, Thomas Rudisill, Margaret Skeele, and Jessee Wagner. Graduate students included DNP students Ashleigh Benda, Elizabeth Devereaux, Hannah French, J’Vonne Hunter, and MSN student Reames Rinehart.

Kristen Elmore shares her experience below:

Before going on this mission trip, I was told over and over by others, “this will be a life-changing experience,” “you won’t want to come back,” “this experience will be like no other.” I believed all I was told, but I don’t think I truly grasped before leaving how much of an impact this experience would really make on my life. And, as advised…my life has changed since returning. It was so inspiring to see that despite all that the Ugandans experience…extreme poverty, illness, sorrow…they still persevere, and still are so strong in their faith and belief that a higher power is looking out for them and has this awesome plan for their lives. I saw this in everyone I came in contact with from the children to the adults. It truly inspired me. I’m so excited about all of the personal growth I experienced, but also the growth I experienced as a nursing student.

The experiences from that medical mission will heavily influence how I practice as a nurse, my interaction with patients, and my thoughts and beliefs on the value of myself as a health care professional. I grew in my faith, developed confirmation in what I’ve been called to do through my nursing career, and am encouraged to live a life full of giving and recognizing the needs of others. I want to use that mission to Uganda as a springboard. I hope to have the opportunity for other international medical missions throughout my nursing career and use those experiences, coupled with my nursing skills, to touch as many lives across the world as humanly possible.

What an amazing trip!

- Kristen Elmore, Accelerated BSN student