June 8, 2017 - Reyna Avila recently completed a course at Panola College in Transcultural Nursing in the remote jungles of Belize with her instructor, Dr. Barbara Cordell, RN and Dean of Nursing at Panola College. The course is connected to a group called Project Belize that consists of doctors and nurses who have been traveling to serve Belize’s poorest residents for thirty years. This year, forty-four people went to the Toledo District to hike to villages that have no doctor or nurse. “We are often the only medical personnel these people have seen since we were here the year before”, says Cordell.
Avila and others provided nursing assessments and treatments to over 1500 patients in a four-day period. Often antibiotics were given, sometimes pain medicines, rarely a minor surgery was performed, but everyone got vitamins, a toothbrush, and education concerning health issues.
“The trip to Belize was amazing! I wish every student nurse could experience the wonderful people we saw at the clinics,” said Avila.
Avila is a Licensed Vocational Nurse in the Panola College LVN to RN hybrid transition program and is due to graduate in August 2017. Avila lives in the Dallas area but chose to drive to East Texas to attend Panola College’s nursing program because she heard about the program’s excellent teachers and curriculum.
