Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-046
Joanna (Jody) Gemmell (nee Schmeucker) served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras from 1969 to 1971 as a nurse. She had seven years of acute care nursing experience. Training in Camp Crozier, Puerto Rico, focused on language and culture but omitted preparation for nursing practice and education in Honduras. Gemmell was assigned to the hospital in Santa Rosa de Copan, and was the only nurse on staff. She managed multiple wards, devised innovative solutions in primitive conditions, and developed operating room training for the nursing assistants. She found the pediatric and maternal losses, lack of respect by local physicians, and isolation from her peers to be daunting. However, Gemmell is proud that she was able to lay a foundation for subsequent nursing volunteers. The Peace Corps was very influential in her life, and now she volunteers in clinics caring for the under-served populations and supports pediatric neurological care in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Interviewed and recorded by Gail B. Gall, September 12, 2019. 1 digital audio file.