Introducing Me
My name is Tessy Klein and I studied abroad in the Greek Isles through CYA during the summer of 2023. An interesting part about my LSA abroad experience is I am actually a Nursing major. As a nursing student, I was not able to go abroad during the school year, but knew that studying abroad was a priority of mine because of my minor in Population Health in a Global Context. After doing some research, I decided to go abroad through CGIS with a number of LSA students.
Why did you go abroad?
I viewed studying abroad as a way for me to explore my interests and to take on a different type of learning from my traditional studies. One of my goals going into nursing school was to be able to learn compassionate patient care in a way that can't be learned in a traditional classroom setting. So going abroad helped me to take on a different and new perspective in healthcare.
How Did Your Courses Relate to Nursing?
The two courses I took were “Isolomania” An Exploration of Contemporary Art in the Greek Isles, and Greek Island Architecture, Culture, and Identity. Although I didn’t take nursing specific courses, I was able to learn about the rich culture and history of Greece. This experience enabled me to understand the inner workings of a rich cultural history and cultural pride. I learned a lot about possible communication barriers and how to communicate productively even with something difficult like a language barrier. In a hospital setting it is not uncommon to have patients that are not English speaking or fully engaged in American ways of life. After being on the receiving end of a different culture, I have learned how to engage in more compassionate care with my patients as I now have first hand experience with knowing how scary things can be when you don’t fully understand what is going on around you.
Advice for Fellow Nursing Students
First and foremost, do not be afraid to go abroad! The summer is a fantastic time to learn about yourself and to gain a deeper appreciation for your profession. I learned so much about Greek healthcare just from observation and I still use the skills I learned abroad by being able to bring different and unique perspectives into class discussions. Applying through LSA can open up so many possibilities for rich experiences that could be incredibly useful for patient care.
Have questions for Tessy about her experience on Summer Study in the Greek Isles? Contact her at tmklein@umich.edu.
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