Hello all! I apologize about my delay in adding to the blog, was having some technological difficulties. Let me first introduce myself- my name is Kalie Marion and I am going into my second year studying in UMass Lowell’s Family Nurse Practitioner program. I have been working as a pediatric primary care nurse since 2013 and love it but I am very excited to advance my career with my masters degree and take on more of a leadership role.

Today we had the pleasure of listening to a variety of presentations from individuals representing UMass Lowell as well as Shandong University. Dr. King gave a great presentation on what it is like to be a preceptor in the United States which truly gave some perspective on how challenging it can be. A perspective we do not get to see as the student. All of the UMass Lowell students presented excellent topics discussing topics relevant to our nursing practice in the United States.

One presentation I found particularly interesting was a PhD student from Shandong University who discussed suicide in the Chinese population. She reported that 1/3 of those who committed suicide did not had a diagnosed mental health disorder. She brought up that unlike the U.S. where suicide has a high correlation with mental health disorders that maybe there is a different root cause for the Chinese population. I thought a lot about how this statement could relate to the Chinese culture. She discussed how during the research study she conducted that the Chinese people interviewed were hesitant to discuss mental health disorders openly which led me to believe that just because something is not diagnosed does not mean it is not an issue with the patient or in the society. It led me to think a lot about the negative associations regarding mental health disorders and how in the United States and abroad we should still be working towards improving the stigma that is associated  with mental health disorders in order to improve treatment outcomes for patients suffering from this condition.

I am including some excellent photos from today’s presentations!