Local nursing teacher returns from trip to China
By Angela Greiner Contributing Writer

Ann Walsh stands in front of the Great Wall of China during her recent trip. PHOTO/SUBMITTED

Region - After touring two Chinese hospitals, drinking green tea and doing tai chi in a Beijing park, nursing instructor Ann Walsh returned from a 10-day medical tour of China.

She plans to use her experience to enrich the nursing classes she teaches in the Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School's Practical Nursing Program, she said.

Walsh's specialty is teaching students about cultural awareness

and trends in nursing. Students need to learn about trans-cultural nursing, she said.

Nurses educate patients, Walsh said, and it is important to understand and respect the medical cultural diff erences among patients. She gave the example of people from various religious and ethnic backgrounds having diff erent diets: for a Jewish patient in the hospital it could be important to order kosher food.

"Here [In China] is a culture," Walsh said, "that believes strongly in acupuncture, herbs and massage for medical treatment."

If U.S. medical professionals understand the differences, she said, they will be more adept at understanding patients and helping them see the value of the Western medicine.

During her trip she learned that in China there are two forms of medical treatment: the holistic approach using herbs, exercise, massage and acupuncture and the Western approach similar to that practiced in the U. S., she said. One hospital took a strictly holistic approach. Most patients seek a holistic approach first and then go elsewhere for Western methods, if needed.

At another hospital she observed Western and holistic approaches complementing each other. She learned of patients treated successfully with oral herbs and herbal compresses for many issues. She also observed patients receiving Western care for similarproblems.

Walsh was impressed with the holistic, preventative approach to health that the Chinese take.

She discovered after visiting a green tea plantation that most people throughout the country drink green tea mixed with warm water all day. According to Chinese doctors, this not only reduces heart and cholesterol issues, but it also aids in weight loss.

Exercise is a social activity. The 120 parks in Beijing are often filled with hundreds of people doing tai chi or ballroom dancing. Walsh joined in with a group of 200-plus people who welcomed her and showed her some tai chi moves. She commended the Chinese for combining exercise with socializing.

"It was marvelous," Walsh said.