Tour of the Colosseum and Roman Forum
Author: Katie Locke | Major: Nursing | Semester: Fall 2022
I chose to study abroad in Rome, Italy with The University of Arkansas Rome Center to further my education in nursing. Studying abroad as a nursing major is rare, so I was very excited and grateful for this opportunity. This program allowed me to continue my nursing studies and complete clinical hours in an Italian hospital, Agostino Gemelli University Policlinic. While I was at Gemelli, I was in a Neurology and Cardiology Intensive Care Unit and a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Learning in an Italian hospital allowed me to compare The United States healthcare system to a country with universal healthcare. Not only did I get to observe the differences in our healthcare systems, but I also gained skills in reading body language. I was often only able to minimally verbally communicate with patients due to our language barrier, so I improved at understanding their body language in order to help with their needs. This also occurred with the hospital staff; I often would observe conversations in Italian and use my medical terminology and observe their body language in order to determine what was occurring in the situation. Being able to understand body language is imperative because often with hospitalized patients, verbal communication is not an option for various reasons. Therefore, it was valuable to improve these skills while I was abroad because they will be helpful in the future. I loved the environment of the Rome Center where I had all of my lecture classes: Teaching and Health Promotion, Nurse Concept: Health/Illness I, Nurse Concept: Health/Illness II, and Elementary Italian I. My classes had 17 nursing students, and our instructors were very supportive in assisting us in our classes and with adapting to life in Rome. This differed from classes at the U of A because of the smaller classroom environment that allowed us to have more discussions and feedback toward our education and learning. I felt as though I got to know my classmates and professors better, which gave me the courage to participate more.
Throughout my four months in Rome, I had the opportunity to develop relationships with several people I would never have been able to on a short trip to Rome. For example, many mornings my classmates and I would stop by a café on our way to class or clinical. After a few weeks, we became regulars and developed relationships with the baristas and waiters/waitresses. Although many of them spoke mostly Italian, we were able to use the Italian we had learned in class to communicate with them. They were always so kind to us and even surprised us with little treats on our birthdays. About halfway through my stay in Rome, a few of my classmates and I became friends with some Italian college students. We created an amazing friendship with one another. We would teach each other Italian and English slang, we shared our favorite songs, and they even taught us how to make homemade pasta. Being friends with them was something extremely special and made my study abroad experience much more immersive into the Italian culture. While saying goodbye was sad, we know we are young and have lots of traveling ahead of ourselves to hopefully see one other again.
This study-abroad experience changed my life and will be the highlight of my time at The University of Arkansas. Living in Rome was full of beauty and history every time I stepped outside. I could not recommend this experience enough to fellow students. Being immersed in Italian culture led to amazing food, architecture, art, music, and much more. The thing I will miss the most is the architecture. Seeing St. Peter’s Basilica and Castel Sant’Angelo every morning on my way to class never lost its beauty. I did miss some little things while I was abroad like driving my car, a clothing dryer, and spicy food. I look forward to returning home to see all my friends and family I have missed over these past few months, and I can’t wait to share all my stories with them.