College of Nursing faculty member receives Fulbright grant to travel to Cambodia

A University of Florida College of Nursing faculty member with travel to Cambodia for a 10-month assignment educating undergraduate nursing students and providing professional development opportunities for Cambodian nurses thanks to a Fulbright Scholar grant.

Karen Reed, M.S.N., D.H.S.c., C.N.L., R.N., a clinical assistant professor in the College of Nursing, departed for the Kampot Province Sept. 1 and will return next July. She is the first nurse to receive a Fulbright Scholar grant for work in Cambodia and will be the first Fulbright Scholar from UF to travel to Cambodia. The Fulbright Scholar program provides teaching and/or research grants to U.S. faculty and experienced professionals, who travel abroad to lecture or conduct research in a wide variety of academic and professional fields.

This will be Reed’s fifth trip to Cambodia, building upon an 11-week trip in 2012. She has served as a volunteer mentor to the nursing students at the Technical School for Medical Care in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and has taught as a volunteer in their undergraduate nursing program. Reed has also provided continuing education programs to the staff nurses at Jeremiah’s Hope and the Sihanouk Hospital Center of Hope in Phnom Penh.

Cambodia has one of the highest numbers of amputations per capita in the world, as well as high levels of other traumatic injuries. Reed’s background as a rehabilitation nurse will allow her to educate students and nurses on one of the biggest health issues affecting their country.

“I have a lifelong commitment to Cambodia's nursing profession, and the Fulbright Scholar grant will allow me to validate that commitment,” Reed said.