Submitted by Hope Murphy on the 2019 summer session program in Italy sponsored by the School of Nursing…
I just came back from the Institute for Global Studies’ Nursing 411 “Art of Nursing” study abroad program in Florence, Italy. On the remainder of the program, our group experienced a lot. We visited the Pandolfini household, which is a Renaissance villa in Florence. Within that villa, we had two cooking classes. We were taught about the Tuscan diet, and the Mediterranean style that Italy follows. We were taught hands on how to cook with new herbs and spices, and fresh, unpasteurized, organic food.
On another day, we visited the farmacia Santa Maria Novella, one of the oldest pharmacies in the world. This gave our group exposure to what the healthcare system used to be like in Italy, and how it came to be what it is now. We learned that Italy tries to use holistic healing mediation before resorting to traditional drugs, and most do not visit the doctor every year. On our free day, the Nursing 411 group and I visited Cinque Terra which consists of a rock beach with old seaside villages on the coastline. The views were spectacular, and the information I have learned here will stick with me forever.
