Personal Review and Justice Analysis of Nursing Experiences in Haiti

Health care providers frequently struggle to develop wise applications of theoretical knowledge. As a nurse studying traditional approaches in ethics while simultaneously volunteering in Haiti, I wrestled with the notion of justice in the midst of radical material inequities. Paul Farmer, physician and anthropologist, provides an analytic perspective for health care providers who work in poor and underserved countries by expanding the liberation theology of the 1970s to include social applications. Analyzing my past experiences in Haiti using Farmer’s methodology provided insight into my successes and failures and prompted me to search for personal and professional reasons to provide care for the poor in the future. This type of reflection is essential for health care providers who work with the underserved, regardless of their religion or the country in which they work.