Ten BYU College of Nursing students, accompanied by professors Melanie Livingston and Sarah Davis, had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to practice nursing skills in Tonga and better understand what being part of a faith-filled community means.
They spent their time on three islands: the primary island known as Tongatapu, as well as ‘Eua and Vava’u. There, they worked directly with healthcare professionals to learn medicine from a different cultural perspective.
Tonga’s healthcare system is unique in that healthcare professionals put more emphasis on traveling to patients who otherwise can’t come to a clinic.
“It’s a part of the Tongan healthcare system that’s so unlike our own,” remarked Professor Davis. Visiting patients in various communities alongside nurses and doctors, BYU students gained an appreciation for the day-to-day lifestyle of the residents.
At one point, the group chartered a boat to venture to outer islands. Passing sea turtles on their way, they cut through the ocean accompanied by Tongan nurses and a dentist. Students assisted professionals in administering screenings for diabetes and hypertension for outer islanders, who lack access to such resources despite being high-risk.
They also visited elementary schools, where they assisted in teaching children about oral hygiene. Each child had a water bottle, and one by one, the dentist pumped fluoride inside so they could rinse their mouths.
The group also helped vaccinate children in schools, administer other screenings, weigh newborn babies, and more. From the bigger clinics in Tongatapu to the more remote ones, one element of their learning was constant: what Professor Davis calls “the softer skills of nursing.”
These "softer skills" deviate from procedures and methods. Rather, they looked like understanding culture and community. In Tonga, that community was vibrant and unified.
Talking to citizens and seeing how they treated each other, students clearly saw the strength that faith in Jesus brought them. The vast majority of Tongans are Christian, with almost a fifth belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints per a 2023 U.S. Department of State report.
“You have this culture that just loves God,” said fifth semester student Grace Edwards. This shared faith in Jesus Christ deeply impacts Tongan society, even in the clinic.
Before beginning their shifts, healthcare teams would gather to pray and sing, humbly asking for guidance and strength,” she reflected.
Grace said she loved spending time in the psych ward because no patient or staffer was treated differently than anyone else.
“I feel like that’s something that doesn't always happen in the US,” she lamented. “We aren’t as kind, especially to our psych patients, as we should be.”
Not only were the clinics judgment-free zones, but Tongan nurses actively sought the guidance of the Spirit. Sixth semester student Jailee Spencer remarked on the “integration of prayer into daily routines in some hospitals and clinics.”
She explained that she was "moved by this practice and the way it fostered a spirit of unity, humility, and purpose among the staff.”
The Tongan people treated the students remarkably well during their stay, and the group wanted to do something to give back before leaving. After dining with their hosts for the final time on Vava’u, the BYU faculty and students sang a special rendition of “Lord, I Would Follow Thee” that includes two verses written especially for BYU College of Nursing.
“Our testimonies were manifest through our singing, and [the people] received that light,” said Professor Davis.
When new cohorts travel to Tonga in future years, they will be greeted just as warmly as the students this year. Exploring Tongan culture in the clinics and hospitals, in town, and on the crystal sea, they will continue to learn the unity that comes with shared faith and mutual respect.
