Once-in-a-life-time global opportunity for Mansfield-based Nottingham Trent University (NTU) mental health nursing students involved in a knowledge and experience exchange in Krakow, Poland
A group of seven mental health nursing students from NTU Mansfield co-ordinated by Dr Lucian Milasan (Senior Lecturer) recently visited Poland for a two-day experience and knowledge exchange with Jagiellonian University (Institute of Nursing and Midwifery) and Human Foundation (Fundacja Człowiek) in Krakow.
By Sarah Mcleod | Published on 25 November 2024
Categories: Mansfield;
The student fieldtrip was part of a wider educational programme funded by the Student Enrichment scheme at NTU aimed at enhancing mental health nursing students’ trauma-informed knowledge and practice. For this purpose, the trip started with a tour of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum where students, guided by Magda, a local historian, had the opportunity to develop their understanding of historical and collective trauma. The group was not defeated by the cold wind that matched the sombre atmosphere, and followed the steps and traumatic stories of more than one million prisoners most of which perished in the concentration camp under the Nazi occupation.
The student fieldtrip also included a visit to the University Hospital in Krakow where students exchanged knowledge of nursing education and practice with nursing staff and academics from Jagiellonian University setting the foundation for future collaborations.
Finally, students travelled in time through the fascinating stories of Maciej, a person with lived experience of mental distress at the Babiński Psychiatric Hospital in Krakow. The highlight of the visit was an original exhibition (“Mind Your Head”) capturing the journey of psychiatric patients from admission to recovery through innovative art-based methods and artefacts including a straitjacket, and authentic verbal and visual narratives in which students immersed themselves for two hours. Meeting staff from the psychiatric hospital and Human Foundation (Mateusz and Magda) sparked insightful and eye-opening discussions around mental health practices in Poland and the UK, societal stigma, historical and contemporary war atrocities and inter-generational trauma.
Students visiting the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial
“I feel inspired by the whole experience and strongly believe that every mental health nursing student can make the world a better place and positively impact on people’s lives. We all know that mental health issues occur worldwide, and the best way to tackle them is to learn without borders.”
The trip was a success from a multi-cultural learning perspective, and also in terms of forging social connections and experiencing the local Polish culture and hospitality, with a life-long impact on students, as summed up by the group members:
“The trip was absolutely fantastic. I feel so grateful to have had the opportunity to go to Poland and to visit Auschwitz which is an experience I will never forget.”
“Our experience was so much more than a university trip to Poland. It was a journey that helped me discover who I am, as a person and as the mental health nurse I want to become. This experience taught me things no textbook or classroom could ever teach me. It was not simply about exploring the culture and learning new practices; it was a personal journey, about making us stronger, more compassionate, more resilient. Dziękuję (thank you)!”