An
associate professor of nursing at Connecticut's Fairfield University,
Shirley Hoeman, Ph.D., M.P.H., spent two months at the Jordan
University of Science and Technology (JUST) lecturing and conducting
research on rehabilitation and restorative care. The research
she conducted was part of an ongoing study of the sociocultural
factors linked to chronic, disabling conditions in children
from various cultures. Her research required a thorough investigation
of Jordan's health care system in light of the country's economic,
educational, political, religious and family systems.
Dr. Hoeman's activities as a lecturer/researcher
in Jordan included teaching with Jordanian nursing faculty member
Linda Haddad, Ph.D., with whom she developed the first master's
program in community/public health and nursing in Jordan. Participants
in the new program will graduate as experts in community health
assessment, decision making, intervention and evaluation. They
will be trained to initiate health promotion and prevention activities
and provide primary care as defined by the World Health Organization,
Healthy People 2000/2010 and Jordan's Ministry of Health. Although
her Fulbright grant has ended, Dr. Hoeman continues to collaborate
with Dr. Haddad. With one joint publication already in print,
the former Fulbrighter and her host country counterpart currently
have two research projects in progress.
An expert on rehabilitation nursing, Hoeman gave
several presentations on the subject for the medical community
in her host country and proposed the framework for a cardiac rehabilitation
program at the Irbid medical center. Hoeman's goals for the future
include the development of this and other rehabilitation programs
around the world. The third edition of Dr. Hoeman's text, Rehabilitation
Nursing, is in progress.
In addition to the professionally enriching experiences
of her Fulbright grant in Jordan, Dr. Hoeman is thankful for the
personal rewards. Hoeman commented that living and working in
a new culture, interacting with host country nationals as part
of their daily lives, is the best way to gain cross-cultural understanding.
Immersed in the host culture, she explained, you become aware
of the United States from a different perspective and, she added,
"perhaps the greatest culture shock is upon returning home!"
Dr. Hoeman's activities during her 1998-99 grant
to Jordan demonstrate her firm belief that "nurses can make important
contributions toward forging partnerships between professionals,
cross-cultural groups, communities, and client populations" to
promote good health around the world.
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