University of New England

Nexus
Amy Lippmann - A Unique Perspective on Nursing and International Studies
by Danielle Vayenas

At UNE, it isn’t too unusual to have alumni teaching classes. However, in assistant professor Amy Lippmann’s case, not only is she a UNE alumna, but she is a dual Israeli/U.S. citizen and is a graduate of UNE’s Israel College of Nursing.

Tel Aviv at the Beach

Lippmann grew up in Baltimore and her parents are fourth-generation Americans, but after graduating early from high school, at age 17 she decided she wanted to go to Israel to live with relatives and experience the fledgling country. She lived on a kibbutz with her uncle’s family, stating "it was a great place to live - kids live in the ‘children’s house’ with kids their own age," and it forced her to learn Hebrew pretty fast, as no one there spoke English.

Six months after her arrival, the Yom Kippur war of 1973 broke out, and her uncle was killed. Lippmann stayed to help take her family in taking care of the children, to whom she had become attached. The war had such a profound impact on her life that she decided to become an Israeli citizen. As such, that meant she was eligible for the draft - required of all Israeli citizens - and she chose to focus on medical training, ending up serving as a paramedic in a paratroop unit. She was in the army for two years, and although the war was already over by the time she served, she was on the "front lines" in Gaza for 6 months. 

After the army, Lippmann decided to become a nurse. She ended up working in emergency room and intensive care for many years and during the Lebanese war was automatically stationed in an army hospital. Regarding the profession of nursing in Israel, Lippmann states that there isn’t the kind of nursing shortage we have here, but there isn’t enough money. There are plenty of other differences too she says, "Medicine is more top down, from the physician on down, and the hospital world is very small, everyone knows everyone - there are only six and half million people in Israel where Maine is a million or so - Israel is the size of New Jersey."

The biggest difference is that in Israel, there is universal health care. She says most of her students in Israel express shock that "the U.S., as the most wealthy country, the biggest power in the world, can’t even provide health care for all of its citizens." As far as "rationing" and other fears Americans have about universal health care, she said the system works fairly well in Israel, and if people want more exclusive care, they can purchase supplemental health insurance.

Lippmann went into hospital administration and wanted to get her bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN) in Health Services Management. Someone told her about the UNE program - which was a perfect match for her needs, and she especially liked that 30% of the courses were taught in English. Although fluent in Hebrew at that point, she and most of the other "Anglo Saxons" found it easier to study in their native tongue and they were soon translating for everyone else. More or less all Israelis speak English and the UNE professors come over speaking English - which helps the Israeli students perfect their language skills too.

Lippmann eventually earned her master’s degree in public health care through the distance education program at Clark University and has been considering going for her Ph.D. As a UNE Israel College alumna, she was asked to teach several classes at UNE. Lippmann’s family had vacationed in Naples, Maine every summer, fostering an early love for the area. Having lived in Israel for 32 years, when asked to come teach here, she jumped at the opportunity to return to Maine. She taught at the College of Health Professions on the Westbrook College Campus last fall and this semester is teaching Case Management and a Cultural Diversity course with Carl Toney. In the spring she will be teaching in Israel at UNE’s Israel College. Next year, she hopes to come back here year ’round.

While teaching at UNE, Lippmann has been traveling back and forth during breaks to be with her family. Her twin sons are in the Israeli Army right now (serving 3 years), and her daughter completed her service already (2 years is mandatory for girls) and is now studying political science in Tel Aviv. Although she is very concerned about her sons’ safety given the current unrest, Lippmann feels some sort of mandatory community service for high school-age kids is a good thing. "The experience results in students who are much more mature when they attend college - they take it more seriously and they know what they want to do," she said. In Israel, college is focused on the major _ there is no "liberal arts" like here where you explore all sorts of things. Money isn’t a factor, as school in Israel is subsidized by the government, and in any case, is very inexpensive compared to here.

Lippmann states that the challenges of teaching in a foreign country are multiple and the satisfaction is great once you’re immunized from the initial frustration. In Israel, the culture is very community oriented - and their education is much the same. There is much more group work - the students fight for it all the time. She says, "Students will bargain with professors on pretty much everything - ‘I’ll bring you olives if you add 2 points to my final grade’." With students in Israel College being older, working full time, having kids in the army, dealing with economic and security-related issues, stress is a big issue there. Cultural differences can take many forms - for example, although UNE policy doesn’t technically allow students to bring their children to classes, some travel huge distances to come study and some come from the occupied territories, and often can’t leave their children at home, so she says professors find themselves teaching to a classroom with five newborn babies cooing in the back of the room.

"Cell phones seem to be a physical appendage exclusive to Israeli students like an extra finger - this can be explained by their need to be connected due to ‘the situation’ which can range from suicide bombers, news broadcasts, kids in the army, crisis at work, to hungry husbands," she says. "My expertise in nonverbal communication has reached new heights, as has my ability to not be surprised by anything."

A part of the Israel College Lippmann found extremely valuable was the summer exchange program, where the students travel here to spend time on the Westbrook College Campus. It was previously a mandatory part of the program, but with security problems it is now optional, and it’s hard for the students to make the trip. The biggest benefit is that students get to participate in an actual U.S. learning environment - where there are many more resources. For one thing, the Abplanalp Library on the Westbrook College Campus is bigger/better than what the students have access to over there. Other things we take for granted here, are much more limited there - administrative support is practically non existent, paper is expensive so photo-copying is limited, electronics are expensive so audiovisuals are few and far between and usually don’t work, electricity is expensive so in the heat of the summer the A/C doesn’t work, and best, but not least, there are no refreshments for the faculty or students who teach and study 12 hours a day. When the students come to study in Maine, not only do they get great classroom experience, but they get to see hospitals, the Jewish community and moreover, with English only being spoken, they get a great opportunity to practice those skills. She would love for this exchange to go back to being a required part of the program.

Overall, Lippmann feels the Israel College program is a wonderful opportunity for Israelis to see other cultures, to see how things are taught here - other ways of learning and of practicing health care. She says, "The experience opens their minds, and that is truly important."

In November, 2004 195 students graduated with their baccalaureate degrees in nursing from the University of New England’s Israel College program. UNE College of Health Professions’ Dean Vernon Moore, Vice President of Academic Affairs Lemuel Berry, were there for the week to take part in the graduation ceremony.