Nursing students to go down under

Three undergraduate students at the School of Nursing will participate in a new exchange program with the University of Ballarat in Australia. Third-year students Sarah Weston and Tanasia Ownby along with Meredith Jamieson, a first-year second degree student, will spend the equivalent of their fourth-year fall semester in Australia beginning in July.

The idea for the exchange blossomed between Jeanette Lancaster, dean of the School of Nursing, and Dr. Sue Turale, head of the Nursing Program at Ballarat. Turale came to U.Va. in 1999 with an interest in developing an exchange program. Lancaster, in turn, was a guest lecturer at Ballarat the following fall.

The two nursing programs are compatible, with many similarities and the absence of a language barrier, Lancaster noted.

Funding to offset travel expenses has been provided by the Office of the Vice Provost for International Affairs, the Office of Admissions and Student Affairs at the School of Nursing and its Alumni Association.