A very rewarding program for college nursing students was developed between the sister cities in 1995. The participants in this program were The Robert Gordon University (formerly Forresterhill College) in Aberdeen and Houston Baptist University College of Nursing. One of the founding members of this program, Helen Schmolke, was honored in June of 2005 in the Houston Chronicle and you can read her incredible story by clicking HERE.

Learning objectives in this nursing exchange program center around identifying perception of health and health care problems in the country visited, describing methods for nursing practice, health research, and delivery of health care within the international community. Equally important is teaching the visiting students how patient care is provided within primary, acute and tertiary facilities. This 2-week program enables peers from each visiting country to understand how nursing care is provided in the their Sister City's country.

This is our fourteenth year to sponsor the student nurses exchange, and the two students from Houston, Danielle Cowing and Shannon Sinclair will be leaving for Aberdeen May 17, 2008 and returning to Houston May 31. The Scottish students will be coming sometime during the fall probably in October at which time a dinner will be held honoring all four students. We are once again very grateful to The Royal Bank of Scotland, Mr. Kevin Howard, Managing Director & head of North American Energy Group for underwriting this great program.

In preparation for our nursing students departing for Aberdeen, a meeting was held at HBU with the Lady Provost of Aberdeen, Sandra Stephen, representatives from HBU and HGA and, of course, our student nurses. Mary Metz shared with the group, plans and the itinerary for their visit to Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen. Mary has built and led this effort on behalf of the Houston Grampian Association for many years, including the arrangement of financing air fares, spending money, and making all the right contacts with our sister organization, Grampian Houston. Mary is shown here "holding court" as she detailed the plans for the entire trip from start to finish, and provided airline vouchers for the student nurses. Below, just prior to the end of this session, Mary and the Lady Provost are shown with Danielle and Shannon, and we've titled this photo, "Nurses with Royalty", which appropriately describes Mary and the Lady Provost shown in the center of the photo.

Danielle Cowing and Shannon Sinclair have been most active during their time at HBU and have received very high honors for their hard work and involvement in student nursing programs. Danielle was Treasurer of the Nursing Student Association (07 - 08), and was awarded the "Outstanding Student Nurse" for the Texas Nursing Student Association this year. She has maintained a balanced student life here on campus throughout her time in the nursing program. She is an active member of the Phi Mu social sorority. She also is a caregiver for a young woman with debilitating autism and compulsive disorder. Shannon is the Chair of Publications for the Nursing Student Association (07-08), and was awarded the "Most Improved Organization Publication" by the National Nursing Student Associatioin this year. Shannon has been instrumental in encouraging pre-nursing students on campus to join in this professional organization this academic year with her excellent communication through the NSA Workspace she developed. She is the editor of Nursing Notes, the department of Nursing student magazine, and Danielle is Chair of the Finance Committee.

They are shown below with a group of very interested people, just prior to leaving for their visit to Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen and had the opportunity to meet with Lady Provost of Aberdeen, Sandra Stephens during this session. From left to right are Deb Berry, Interim Dean - College of Nursing, Danielle Cowing, Mary Metz, Lady Provost Sandra Stephen Shannon Sinclair, Dr. Nancy Yuill - Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs, Marti McWhirter and Quin McWhirter.

An article in Mitchell’s Diary by Peter Mitchell in Aberdeen, said, "One of the enduring spin-offs from links between Grampian and the Texan megalopolis of Houston is a student nurse exchange scheme. Flying home tomorrow after a two-week study visit to Aberdeen are Texas Student Nurse of the Year, Danielle Cowing, 23, and Shannon Sinclair, 22, from Houston Baptist University. Come October, two student nurses from Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University, Lisa Kendall, 32, of Aberdeen, and Louise Conaghan, 26, of Thurso, will head for Texas. All of them have to write a report comparing healthcare provision and nurse education. The annual exchange is promoted by Grampian-Houston Association with support from NHS Grampian, Albyn Hospital, Aberdeen, the Wood Group and Absoft Computer Services, Bridge of Don. Shannon and Danielle visited hospitals in Aberdeen, the Skene Medical Practice at Westhill, research facilities and the RGU School of Nursing and Midwifery. The Texans also enjoyed dolphin-watching in the Moray Firth, tours of Glenfiddich Distillery and Deans of Huntly shortbread factory and a weekend in Edinburgh." During their great visit in Aberdeen, our student nurses were hosted by the Lord and Lady Provost at the Townhouse and are shown with their hosts below.

The students from Houston Baptist University who participated in the program for 2007, Jennifer Marie Hall and Melody McClanahan are shown below with Mary Metz and are from left to right, Jennifer, Melody and Mary.

Jennifer and Melody are shown below on their exchange visit to Aberdeen with the student nurses from Aberdeen who will be visiting Houston in October. From left to right, they are Julie, Jennifer, Deborah and Melody. In the second photo, they are shown at a reception given for them with Margaret Hadley, co-orginator of the program for Grampian Houston.

  

During their time in Scotland, Jennifer and Melody got to see a lot of the country and enjoyed the tour of Edinburgh on the double decker bus that they rode on the tour. They are shown seening Edinburgh from their bus in the photo on the left, and at a reception by the Lord and Lady Provost of Aberdeen are shown with the group on the right.

  

Following their arrival in Houston in October, visiting nursing students from Aberdeen were welcomed at a reception at Houston Baptist University as they began their scheduled activities with us. They are shown below with HBU and HGA hosts and are pictured from left to right: Dr. Nancy Yuill of HBU College of Nursing, HBU students Jennifer Hall and Melody McClanahan, Mary Metz from HGA, and visiting nursing students from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Debora Moir and Julie Stewart.

Their time with us seemed to vaporize as they combined an intense regimen of training and hospital visits with fun things like shopping and even a whirlwind weekend trip to Dallas. These young ladies made the most of their time and gave us a very good report on what they had experienced when we got together at HBU for a dinner honoring them and to have dialogue with them about their experience. Royal Bank of Scotland very generously sponsored the event and Kevin Howard was present to celebrate with us. Remarks were made by these distinguished folks shown below, from left to right, HGA President Bob Gilbert, HBU President Robert Sloan, HBU Director of Nursing Nancy Yuill and British Consul General Paul Lynch, and a very happy Kevin Howard, Managing Dirctor of The Royal Bank of Scotland, our generous sponsors.

The highlight of the evening was hearing presentations from the four student nurses to share their experiences in the visits to Aberdeen and to Houston, and then to engage in a spirited question and answer session with us to better understand the differences between nursing in the UK and in the United States and to hear how each one had benefited from their participation. The photo below shows the group together with our Chairman, Mary Metz, who coordinated the event for HGA and at the microphone in this photo is Julie Stewart who had said she was nervous about speaking in front of this audience. She "held court" quite nicely and moderated much of the dialogue during this final portion of the program.

And finally, a great photo of our hosts for the wondeful evening, Melody McClanahan, Dr. Yuill, Dr. Sloan and Jennifer Hall. It was a treat for us to welcome Dr. Sloan to our gathering and to enjoy his participation and encouragement for our activities in this, our signature event.

2006 Student Nurses Exchange

The students from Houston Baptist University who participated in the program for 2006 were Alison Norman and Bill Miller. They are shown below with Mary Metz. In October, we received the visiting nurses from Aberdeen, Alison French and Kate Reeves.

During their visit to Aberdeen, our student nurses were hosted by the Lady Provost, Helen Reynolds at the Aberdeen Town House and are pictured below with her. They are from Left to Right: Margaret Hadley- Grampian Society, Marie Cameron- RGU Lecturer, Kate Reeve - RGU Student, William Miller- HBU Student, Helen Reynolds- Lady Provost, Alison Norman - HBU Student, Marlene McCloud - Grampian Society, Alison French - RGU Student.

The students toured Aberdeen and at the winter gardens they visited the Silver Jubilee plaque from the GHA/HGA celebration. The tie Bill is wearing in the photo below was given to him by Geoff Hadley. It's the Grampian tartan, which is hard to find these days. The second group shot with the students is at the dinner with the Grampian-Houston Assocation. Bill decided to get in the spirit of things and rented a kilt for the event. Finding a kilt in the Grampian tartan was difficult since the region doesn't exist any more (changed to Aberdeenshire). So, the one he's wearing is the McLeod tartan.

  

On October 1, the student nurses from Aberdeen arrived in Houston and were welcomed at a reception in their honor at the Nursing School of Houston Baptist University. They are shown below with HGA and HBU folks. From left to right are Mary Metz, Marti McWhirter, Alison French, Kate Reeve and Quin McWhirter.

All four student nurses are shown here and they are from left to right, Kate Reeve, Bill Miller, Alison French and Alison Norman.

Their intensive schedule began immediately and they were thrust into the medical arena in Houston at full speed. Mid way through their visit, we paused and held our 13th annual dinner to honor our student nurses, and it was hosted by Houston Baptist University in the Hinton Center. The group gathered prior to entering the meeting room and below is a photo of Tom Gossett with the four student nurses.

The dinner began with welcoming remarks by Tom Gossett, standing in for our President, James Prappas, who was out of town with his family. Jack Hume offered a blessing and the folks gathered from Houston Grampian and Houston Baptist University were treated to a great meal of Texas Bar-B-Q and all the trimmings. Mary Metz and Dr. Nancy Yuill made remarks and then the students were introduced to discuss their experiences in Aberdeen and Houston and to compare notes on their observations of differences in the approach taken to nursing in the two cities. Here you see Tom Gossett, Mary Metz, Dr. Yuill and Deputy Consul Michael Morley making remarks to the gathering.

The discussion by the student nurses regarding their comparisons of nursing in Houston and Aberdeen were most interesting, and their were numerous questions from the attendees to understand how they perceived careers and approaches to nursing differed. Below is a photo of the four nurses as they made their presentations and answered questions.

At the end of the evening, the four student nurses gathered with Dr. Yuill and Mary Metz for a final photo before beginning their second week in Houston. They are shown below.

For previous years' visits between the sister cities, click HERE