Georgia College Nursing Students Prepare for Medical Mission to Honduras

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A group of nursing students from Georgia College are hopping on a plane to Honduras to bring medicine and treat people in need. 41NBC caught up with them before they head out on their medical mission.

On Wednesday, students going on the trip packed three luggage cases filled with medicine and supplies. After a year and a half of planning and taking classes, Dr. Sallie Coke, along with 10 students are getting ready to fly three hours south to a remote region of Honduras.

“These kinds of trips, when you see this kind of poverty and you deal with these kinds of things people face that we don’t even have a clue about,” Dr. Coke said. “This is going to change their entire outlook for the rest of their lives.”

This is a first of its kind medical mission for the nursing program. The students packed enough supplies to spend two weeks helping the sick.

“We’re probably going to see a lot of infectious diseases, so we have a lot of antibiotics, a lot of stuff for asthma, allergies, blood pressure medicine,” nursing student Adrienne Earl said.

“We’re their access to healthcare, which is going to be a big deal to us. I’m excited!” nursing student Kristen Corbin said.

They will have their work cut out for them. Not only are they expected to treat 1,200 patients, but they will face the challenge of working in a different environment.

“We’ll probably see some things that we’ve never seen before, so just being able to adjust and go with the flow,” Earl said.

“I think the biggest thing is the limited resources and supplies,” Corbin said. “We’re bringing a ton with us but we don’t know what we’re going to run into.”

But with the challenge comes a great opportunity to learn.

“They’re going to have the confidence to treat these things and do it. It’s going to change them,” Coke.

When they fly back their bags will be empty, but they will come home with a rewarding experience.

To be clear, this is a group of practicing registered nurses going back to school to further their training. They are leaving for Honduras on Saturday. Click here to follow their journey.