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Two groups of nursing students from Taiwan, both undergraduate and graduate, took a morning trip from Auburn University to tour the Chambers County Community Health and Wellness Center on Wednesday.

Dr. Linda Gibson-Young, professor of nursing and outreach coordinator at Auburn University, gave the tour of the center situated in LaFayette, Alabama.

The center, a partnership between Auburn Rural Health Outreach, the city of LaFayette and the Chambers County Commissioners, is a hub of healthcare resources and information meant to address rural access disparities.

Seven graduate nursing students from the National Cheng Kung University attended the tour. The students, already practicing nurses in Taiwan, are earning their master’s degrees in nursing. They are currently visiting Auburn University for a two-week international program. Around seven undergraduate students from the National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences are visiting on a month-long trip.

This is the second year that the program has invited international students to visit Auburn.

“It’s good to have collaboration with health systems around the world,” Gibson-Young said.

The students toured the OnMed telehealth station, another partnership with the Auburn Rural Health Outreach Project. The station is a fully self-sufficient, self-cleaning and soundproof pod where patients can speak virtually with a healthcare clinician and get a prescription. The telehealth station is ADA-compliant and is designed to take a patient’s vitals from inside the pod.

Many of the students told the Valley Times-News that the community center is similar to those they’ve seen back home in Taiwan; however, the free services offered by the OnMed station were a surprise.

The OnMed station at the community center was rated with the most visits out of the few that are currently in place around the country. The community center in LaFayette has served as the flagship center for other locations across Alabama.

The students also said that their classes at Auburn were different from the ones back home. Many noticed that while their courses are traditional lectures, the classes at Auburn allowed for more dialogue between the students and the instructors. They said they felt more comfortable asking questions, and that they received more positive feedback.

Another thing that the graduate students enjoyed was the simulation clinics at Auburn. Rather than practicing on real patients, they tried their techniques on mannequins with less fear.

The undergraduate students said the length of the classes is also different in Taiwan. There, the classes often last eight hours, and they said their homework is more extensive.