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MSCTC nursing program seeks to train Chinese
Published Friday, December 5, 2008
Fergus Falls, MN — MSCTC administrators have signed letters of intent with three schools in Hunan province, signifying a continued effort to bring Chinese nursing students to Fergus Falls.
The letters were signed in mid-November as a group of MSCTC and Fergus Falls school district staff met with educators, students and hospital officials in the Chinese cities of Huai Hua, Loudi and Changsha, all located in Hunan province. On Thursday, members of the group met with the Fergus Falls Economic Improvement Commission (EIC) to discuss what those agreements mean.
“It’s a formal acknowledgment that you’ve met and you’re going to continue to work together,” said Anna Wasescha, provost at MSCTC-Fergus Falls.
The meetings took place between Nov. 6 and Nov. 18 and resulted in agreements with Loudi Health School, Hunan Zhijiang Normal School and Yiyang Medical College. MSCTC staff including Echo Breen, nursing instructor, and Kathy Burlingame, associate dean of nursing, also visited nursing labs to observe classes and talk with students.
A next step is to figure out how Chinese students could transition smoothly into an American program.
“What we’re waiting for now is we need to get an in depth curriculum...to figure out where they would be in terms of our program,” Burlingame said.
Chinese students enroll in three, four or five-year nursing programs, Burlingame said. Some programs begin when students are still in high school, with 15 and 16-year-olds learning about nursing concepts and practice before they begin clinical work three years later. One option, she said, would be for students to continue their study at MSCTC-Fergus Falls after they’ve passed the national exam required to practice in China.
In a health care system that bases promotions on experience, competence and English proficiency, there’s a strong desire among Chinese nursing students to study in the United States, Burlingame said.
“Many of them would come up to one of us and say, “Take us to America!” Breen said.
MSCTC-Fergus Falls is interested in not only nursing students, but other Chinese students who may want to study business, music or science in an American setting, Wasescha said. The college would provide English immersion for students who may later choose to enroll in another MnSCU school or the business college at the Regional Treatment Center, she has said.
Superintendent Jerry Ness signed similar letters of intent with three Chinese high schools on behalf of the Fergus Falls School District during the trip.
MSCTC staff acknowledged Chinese students would face major cultural changes in coming to Minnesota, encompassing everything from food to music to how the health care system functions. Fergus Falls residents would also have to prepare for a demographic change.
Yet the interest of Chinese students in coming to the United States is a phenomenon Fergus Falls can capitalize on, said EIC Executive Director Harold Stanislawski.
“In a down economy, we’ve finally got something we can build on,” he said.
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Comments
The Daily Journal is happy to host community conversations about news and life in Fergus Falls and the surrounding area. As hosts, we expect guests will show respect for each other. That means we don't threaten or defame each other, and we keep conversations free of personal attacks. Witty is great. Abusive is not. If you think a post violates these standards, don't escalate the situation. Instead, flag the comment to alert us. We'll take action if necessary. It's not hard. This should be a place where people want to read and contribute -- a place for spirited exchanges of opinion. So those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings risk losing the privilege to post at all.Posted by igotclassof68 (anonymous) on December 5, 2008 at 10:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
WAY TO GO GUYS, WAY TO GO!!!, Rick Anderson & the CDG has done an unbelievable job getting all of these groups to coordinate on these projects. Keep it up!
Posted by dschmitt (anonymous) on December 5, 2008 at 11:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I've been following the stories of the proposed international business college at the State Hospital campus with interest because I'm a Fergus Falls native who has made a career of teaching English to international students both in Japan and at a British university. Having read the series of stories about the recent visits to China by the Fergus Falls delegation to China, I'm interested to know just how many Chinese students do these collective groups (CDG, MSCTC-FF and the high school) hope to bring to Fergus Falls at one time? I'm concerned whether sufficient thought has been given to the consequences of accepting too many students from one nationality to educational institutions in Fergus Falls. Does FF have the infrastructure to support this influx of students? For example, there is no public transportation for getting around town - what are these students going to do during their free time outside of school hours? Equally important what kind of American experience can these students expect to have if they are surrounded by large numbers of their compatriots? International students generally do not like studying with large groups of students from their home countries - they go abroad for an international experience. When there are large single nationality groups at a university, students often end up spending most of their time within that group. It can be difficult for individuals to break out of these groups and for outsiders to break in. This has a negative effect on the international students English language development and a negative impact on the academic and wider communities they enter. I hope that sufficient attention is being given to this social aspect of these academic programs as failure to get this aspect right could mean that the high hopes everyone on both sides seems to have for these projects may not be met.
Posted by phoebe (anonymous) on December 5, 2008 at 3:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I do not agree with this! Why not work on the current nursing programs and students! I think your priorities are all wrong!
Posted by lcradomski (anonymous) on December 5, 2008 at 4:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
dschmitt,
I think you raise some good questions in this morning's post, and I'm interested in talking with you further about your experience abroad. Would you call or e-mail me sometime next week? I can be reached at 218-739-7013 or lauren.radomski@fergusfallsjournal.com.
Thanks.
Lauren Radomski
Posted by lookitup (anonymous) on December 5, 2008 at 4:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
There is cheap transportation around Fergus Falls - for a couple of bucks you can go anywhere in town on the mini-bus.
Posted by igotclassof68 (anonymous) on December 5, 2008 at 4:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
DSchmitt, I think your concerns are way over blown.
Posted by watermelon (anonymous) on December 5, 2008 at 4:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
dschmitt's concerns are viable ones and I agree. I don't think anyone has taken into consideration _how_ to host a large group of international students and bring them into a sheltered, rural community. It's not like everything is going to just fall into place. In larger cities such as Minneapolis and St. Paul, there are many centers and programs in place available to deal with the influx of both Hmong and Somali immigrants. Granted, these people are coming here to stay permanently and may need different types of services than those of students that are visiting and have never been here before.
And there certainly is no "public" transportation in FF, other than a couple of locals driving around in rusty buicks, giving rides for a few bucks.
Posted by igotclassof68 (anonymous) on December 5, 2008 at 5:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
OK, look at hillcrest, how do those kids from norway survive for all these years without transportation...
Posted by igotclassof68 (anonymous) on December 5, 2008 at 5:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
And another thing, we should be looking at this as an opportunity to bring public transportation to fergus, not say it wont work because we dont have it. You people need to think outside the box. DSchmitt and Lauren Radomski, this is the exact attitude thats gotten fergus to were it is today. NOWHERE
Posted by Redcloud (anonymous) on December 5, 2008 at 7:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You all have absolutely nothing to worry about, none of it, the collage or students will ever happen.
Posted by ottergrad (anonymous) on December 5, 2008 at 10:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If you look at what parties are involved such as Concordia with their language villages. 6000 students per year and hundreds on their campus today. NDSU with about 1000 foreign students today and a growing I trust the colleges have considered all of these factors.
It is the colleges that run the program not the development group and this includes our MSCTC. All of these colleges have been to China and have relationships with foreign universities and their programs.
University of MN Crookston has over 100 Korean students, Dickenson College has over 100 and these communities are much smaller then Fergus. Cdg has maintained that they want a mix of 50/50 foreign to US students and the universities I am sure have already considered the student life aspect of the situation.
Amazing the journal has to look to a blog to drum up another story.
Posted by alyysaeden008 (anonymous) on December 6, 2008 at 4 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thanks for the great post, I started my career in nursing after finishing a associate degree in nursing from <a href=http://www.associatedegreenursingschools.com>associate degree nursing schools</a>
Posted by dschmitt (anonymous) on December 6, 2008 at 4:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
To date most of the coverage of this story has been about how the CDG project might save the Kirkbride and other buildings on the State Hospital campus, so in essence have tended to focus on short term planning issues. The recent stories about the High School and MSCTC delegations to China have helped a bit in seeing the wider and longer picture. Since I don't live in Fergus and am not able to attend the public meetings that have been held, I'm dependent on the coverage in the newspaper. I'd like to see more stories like these about the people involved in the projects and get a better understanding of their goals and their ideas for implementing them. Ottergrad makes some good points about the involvement of people from NDSU and Concordia. It would interesting to hear from these people. How is this project similar to what they've already got going at their institutions; how is different and what new things are they having to consider? It would also be useful to see stories about how small communities like Dickenson and Crookston are welcoming international students and how international students have benefited their institutions and communities. Another angle on the story that the Daily Journal could take is that international students are big business. The nearly 10,000 international students in the state of Minnesota bring an estimated $197.4 million to the state economy. Given that the potential financial benefit to Fergus Falls from these ventures is clear, I think more stories on the topic could clear up some of the questions I raised in my earlier post.
Posted by igotclassof68 (anonymous) on December 6, 2008 at 10:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I couldnt agree more. The Journal does S#!tty reporting. All they do is write these fluff stories with no real facts and one point of view. Dschmitt they should have already written articles about the financial impact to the community and ect. Up until recently they have been to busy writing articles to bash the project and stir up negative conversations.
Posted by phoebe (anonymous) on December 6, 2008 at 5:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
lookitup, were you aware that the mini bus needs 24 hour notice? If you don't know ahead of time, where does that get you...nowhere!
Posted by lookitup (anonymous) on December 7, 2008 at 9:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I am aware of that - clearly, some people plan ahead better than you do.
Posted by phoebe (anonymous) on December 8, 2008 at 6:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
You clearly missed my point. There are times that people don't know ahead of time! I have my own transportation and do not need to use the bus, but thanks for pointing that in my direction.
Posted by lookitup (anonymous) on December 8, 2008 at 10:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
You reinforce my point - we have only one car in our family, and I have used the bus many times. When you don't have your own transportation readily available, you learn to plan accordingly.
Posted by ottergrad (anonymous) on December 8, 2008 at 11:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
dschmitt, very thoughtful post. You are at a disadvantage not being able to attend the various meetings held by groups in town where CDG has presented their vision. Despite the fact that the journal was there they always decline to ask one question of the group. This of course is a rather curious behavior of a reporter who is suppose to search for a accurate story and report it to their readers.
When the attorney states that the closing on parcel A and B is 99.9% done. That they are waiting for state exhibits and some legal language. The journal reports it as The council delays decision as if to create more doubt and frustration for all.
The Minnesota State Community and Technical College is doing the right thing in being aggressive in student recruitment. Students from all over the world recognize the excellent education our colleges can provide. MNCTC of Fergus Falls working in concert with CDG is a good move for both parties.
Building a stronger relationship using multiple colleges just makes for a stronger program and will ultimately make it a even bigger success for our region.
We all need to hang in there and maybe someday there will be a campus newspaper we can all subscribe to.
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