Here, There and Everywhere
Inspired by the work of missionaries, Baylor nurse directs an FNP program that offers students an opportunity to practice nursing care in Mexico, Africa and their own back yard

By Linda Childers
July 21, 2003

In the heart of a small African village, the nursing student cared for her young patient in a makeshift medical clinic.

The little boy suffered from an upper respiratory infection, but until the nurse missionaries arrived, his condition had never been diagnosed or treated.

His mother stood nearby thanking God for answering her prayers and sending the nurses to help her son and the other children in the village.

For students in the family nurse practitioner program at Baylor University in Dallas, serving on missions is part of the course curriculum as well as an opportunity to fulfill their divine calling.

Amy Roberts, Ph.D., FNP, RN, a senior lecturer and coordinator of the FNP program at the university’s Louise Harrington School of Nursing, prepares students to work as missionaries. A family nurse practitioner who worked for 17 years in international settings and lived in Africa for five years, Roberts is uniquely qualified her to address the educational needs of missionary nurses.

The daughter of a minister, Roberts grew up surrounded by missionaries. Their stories and passion for their work served as her inspiration.

“I realized I had the gift of helping patients heal, combined with a true love for people,” Roberts said.

While working on her master’s degree at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Roberts wrote a thesis on the educational needs of missionary nurses.

“I chose my thesis topic because I wished this kind of training had been available before I embarked on my own missionary work in Africa,” Roberts said.

The thesis soon became a reality at Baylor University’s nursing school.

The FNP program, now in its fifth year at Baylor, is unique because several nursing skills used in the international setting typically are not taught in American nursing schools.

“Nurses who work the international circuit need to have advanced practice skills,” Roberts said. “International nurses have to be able to diagnose and prescribe, as well as treat minor trauma.”

Nurses in the two-year FNP program graduate with a master’s degree and qualify to sit for the FNP certification exam. They learn how to set up a clinic and use it as a ministry. The program also covers tropical diseases and microbiology and has a strong emphasis on international health.

“If a student has the desire and qualifications, they have the option of doing their last clinical rotation in a mission setting,” Roberts said. “This isn’t a mandatory requirement, but it’s an option we offer students.”

Students have the opportunity to go on five-day missions in Mexico, accompanied by faculty members. Other missions to Third World countries vary in length from two to eight weeks.

“Many students come from foreign countries and return home to practice in an advanced nursing capacity after graduation,” Roberts said.

While students offer medical care on their missions, they also provide spiritual care to patients who are receptive to prayer.

Each year, 15 students from around the world are admitted to the Baylor FNP program. Watching them progress through the program continues to inspire Roberts.

“I personally take students on missions to Mexico twice a year, and Africa every other year,” Roberts said. “Watching them grow spiritually and emotionally while improving their clinical and professional skills is always a memorable experience.”

While the FNP program trains students to care for patients internationally, missions are not limited to providing medical care abroad.

“There are many underserved areas right in our back yard,” Roberts said. “There are many cities in the United States where nurse practitioners can fill in the widening gap of serving the working-class underinsured patients.”

Robert points to Baylor’s faculty practice clinic in Itasca, Texas, as an example of a domestic mission.

“This rural town has no health care resources and plenty of underinsured workers,” she said. “All of our students rotate through the clinic and this is as much ‘missionary nursing’ as a trip to Africa. People all over the world need access to affordable health care and nourishment for their souls.”

Anyone interested in the FNP program offered at Baylor can contact Beverly Kurfees at Beverly_Kurfees@Baylor.edu, or call (214) 820-4111.