Nurses deliver 80% of health care globally yet continue to be underrepresented in national and international policy level discussions (Wilson, et. al., 2016; WHO, n.d). Transcultural collaboration can be strategically initiated to develop leadership and upscale nursing practice. The targeted and mutual upscaling of nurses can result in nurse entrée into the venues where population health decisions are made (Crisp, & Iro, 2018, Clark et al., 2016).
Sustainable effective cross cultural global partnerships must navigate a myriad of factors. Power imbalances, cultural differences, and unclear goals can burden well-intentioned efforts. Obstacles, if not addressed systematically can hinder or even halt potentially viable collaborative efforts.
The Model for Upscaling Global Nursing and Midwifery Partnerships, a theory of change model for transcultural work, was developed by a team of nurse faculty from Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing with extensive, diverse global collaboration experience (Spies, et al., 2017). The model, based on cultural humility, presents foundational requisites and contributing factors that facilitate Upscaling Global Capacity. This model formed the foundation for the collaboration with the country of Vietnam to develop graduate nursing education, promote leadership and evidence-based practice.
Description/Overview
The Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing (BU LHSON) partnership with Nam Dinh National Nursing University is a transcultural collaboration that began in 2010 and has evolved, expanded, and remained vibrant. This partnership has supported the successful design and launching of the first master’s degree in nursing in Vietnam, reciprocal faculty and student development with resultant publication, presentations, and enhancement of teaching, practice and research implementation. The experience also promoted rich transcultural interaction with diverse novice to expert educators and provided time for exploration of mutual scholarly interests. At the request of the government and Nam Dinh National Nursing University, Baylor nursing faculty, and leadership have traveled to assist with curriculum development, teach courses and offer consultation and evaluation in the program. Nam Dinh University faculty, staff and students have regularly visited BU LHSON and its healthcare partners in the region for cross cultural learning experiences, consultation and the promotion of global nursing practice and leadership.
Concurrent with the development of this transcultural academic partnership, a nursing practice partnership developed with the National Pediatric Hospital in Hanoi to collaborate with the chief nursing officer to upscale nursing professional development, develop leadership capacity to influence patient care delivery and promote evidence-based practice exemplars to disseminate throughout the country. Multiple seminars and consultations were held with 100 nurse managers to promote nursing leadership and best practices.
Results
To date, 60 new master’s prepared nurses are practicing in leadership roles, teaching, applying evidence-based practice and influencing population health outcomes throughout Vietnam. Faculty academic preparation and expertise has been elevated. Qualitative interviews reveal that most graduates have been hired or promoted to positions in public health, university faculty, nursing management or as nurse researchers as a result of their attainment of this master’s degree. This past year, an invitational meeting was held with the Ministry of Health to discuss collaborating for the development of a nursing doctoral practice degree to further elevate evidence-based practice, advanced nursing leadership and education in Vietnam.
Conclusion
A successful global partnership focused on upscaling education, practice and leadership is multifaceted, complex, and requires significant sustainable academic collaboration and commitment. There must be goodness of fit, communication, flexibility, agility, adaptability and patience. The transcultural strategies as represented by the model, and reflected in the collaborative efforts in Vietnam, have demonstrated an emerging focus on the highest level of nursing leadership development and population-focused research resulting in enhancement of global nursing, education and practice. The Model for Upscaling Global Nursing and Midwifery used as a basis for this partnership can be replicated, resulting in increased effective and sustainable global collaboration to elevate nursing practice, prepare nurse leaders and increase cross-cultural research toward advancing global health.