Summer 2023

This project has been literally months in preparation.  March 2022, I was accepted to the US Fulbright Specialist roster.  Unlike the US Fulbright Scholar Program, which I was fortunate to do 2013-2014, the Specialist must seek out a project designed by an international university for which they are a good match OR collaborate with the university in designing a project.  Time was ticking as in order to get in the two maximum projects, I HAD to find a project for Summer 2023. 

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I reached out to the director of the BSN nursing program at Vin University in Hanoi, Vietnam to discuss possible projects for which I would be a good match.  The topic of the NCLEX exam came up and I learned that their graduates take the same licensing exam as our nursing graduates in the USA. Beginning April '23, 17% of the NCLEX exam questions will be in an alternative format, not your standard multiple choice questioning. The purpose is to really drill down and gauge the clinical judgment of nursing graduates. However, while every nursing program in the USA has been working to prepare their students for this change, the faculty and the students at Vin University are very unsure of how to prepare for the different question formats.  Consider how different the health delivery systems are between the USA and Vietnam and the fact that these native Vietnamese nursing students are taking the exam in English. Wow- how brave and how smart they are.  

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So to that end, I am going to be living and working in Hanoi from May 13th- June 16th as a visiting professor, working with the faculty members and the students in preparing to take the NCLEX exam this summer. I have never visited Hanoi before and this is my first exposure to nursing education in Vietnam.  It shall be quite the adventure.  

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Of course, it would not be an adventure without hiccups. Right?  Well, here's the first hiccup.  While I have purchased my airfare, I have not yet been approved to participate in the project as a US Fulbright Specialist.  The project and my project application were both submitted November 2022 and the project has just now been approved.  It could be another 8 weeks before my application is approved and I leave May 11th!! Yipes!!  So, for now, I go as a volunteer and as soon as my application to work on this project is approved, my status shifts over to that of a US Fulbright Specialist through the US State Department. Vin University is covering my in-country expenses, just as if I am already approved for the project.  A huge shout out and thank you to Vin University!! 

So what about Lee, my beloved husband and partner in all adventures?  He will keep the home fires covered until the school year ends, at which time he will fly over to Hanoi and join me. This is not a bad thing as it will give me time to get settled into my "summer life" and invest time in learning my neighborhood and all about my new colleagues and the university. 

There is still much to do as once this project comes to an end, June 16th, I fly to Phnom Penh, Cambodia where I will begin my second project, a University of Florida sponsored project with the Cambodian Ministry of Health.  My list of "to-do's" remains quite long, but I'm getting there. 

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I hope that you will join me on my adventures in Hanoi!

Until then- tạm biệt (Good-Bye!)   Karen