Visit of Saskatchewan Polytechnic students to TSMU
During three weeks of April 29 to May 21 a group of students from Saskatchewan Polytechnic School of Nursing: Briana Bourgeault, Aleah Sakowsky, Nicole Cotterill, Melissa Grenier, and professor Marilyn Schigol visited Ternopil State Medical University.
The visit took place within the framework of academic mobility program in the field of nursing and through an agreement on cooperation between the Nursing School of Saskatchewan Polytechnic and Institute of Nursing of Ternopil State Medical University.
The students study psychiatric nursing. During their visit they attended classes together with 4th year TSMU students of the BN program, in particular lectures and practical classes in psychiatry form the faculty of Department of Neurology, Psychiatry, Narcology and Medical Psychology. “The lectures covered material in-depth and were interesting. In addition, we had the opportunity to join discussions, share experiences and ideas about approaches to treating patients in Canada and Ukraine ” – said Marilyn Schigol.
During practical classes, students worked in all departments of the hospital, examined patients with anxiety disorders, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, drug abuse problems, and childhood mental health disorders. “The combination of theoretical and practical parts of the lesson: working with patients and discussing the theoretical material in the same day is a good approach in the educational process. Such training greatly deepened my knowledge on many issues of psychiatry, “said Aleah Sakowsky.
The delegation visited a number of medical organizations, including Petrykiv regional geriatric boarding house, narcology clinic, Regional children’s clinical hospital, Budanivska psychiatric hospital, Mykulyntsi regional physical therapy and rehabilitation hospital. “The use of aromatherapy and different physical therapy methods has greatly expanded my understanding of the range rehabilitation services for people with mental disorders. I will try to make aromatherapy more widely used in Canada ” – said Nicole Cotterill.
The students had the opportunity to speak at a nursing conference and present their research. “It was a unique opportunity to share strengths and problems with helping mentally ill people in Canada, and to answer questions from the audience about nursing work in Canada” – said Briana Bourgeault.
In Ternopil, guests visited TSMU Anatomical Museum, had a tour of the city, visited Mother’s Day art festival Tsvit vyshyvanky, learned to cook pierogis and Ukrainian borsch, got to do horseback riding and salsa dancing.
They also got to travel around Ukraine. In the Carpathians, the visitors learned about the Hutsul culture, tasted the famous banosh with bacon and mushroom soup. Spending several days in Lviv, they could experience the old city, taste traditional coffee, and enjoyed the architecture. Visiting Budanivsky and Mykulynetsky castles, they learned about Ukrainian ancient history.
“This was a fantastic opportunity for us to learn about Ukrainian health system, as well as about its culture, life, and customs. We had plenty of opportunities to learn, share experiences, ideas and plans for the future. Many thanks for the unforgettable time in Ukraine, “said Melissa Grenier.
