SEAHEC and the University of Arizona have come together once again to provide a hands-on community learning experience for health professions students. On Saturday August 17th students and faculty met in Tucson to wrap up the seven-week pilot course, Migration Inter-professional Leading to Action and Growth (MILAGRO.) The meeting featured student project presentations and a final reflection on what they had learned.
A key feature of the one unit course is inter-professional collaboration. A total of seven students from the University of Arizona Colleges of Public Health, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy volunteered at Casa Alitas, a support program for migrant families run by Catholic Charities in Tucson.
Learning goals included improving cultural competence by learning about migration and migrant communities, and build collaboration skills by contributing the perspectives and expertise of their chosen disciplines to develop and implement a project to benefit the shelter. Two faculty from each of the participating colleges mentored the students during the course.
The students worked in two groups. The first group conducted a call-back survey for Casa Alitas guests and created a resource guide to the top 10 cities Casa Alitas Guests migrate to. The second group developed a training presentation for new volunteers that provides an overview of the histories of Mexico and Central America. Knowledge of historical events help volunteers understand the reasons people migrate to the US. Students also created a tutorial for Casa Alitas guests on how to navigate the US bus system.