‘Value Added' Global Partnering

Nursing in many developing countries is decades behind that of countries with a well established nursing profession. Visits from nurses from developed countries represent one strategy for advancing nursing through global partnerships. While education for nurses in the host country may be the explicit purpose for a visit, opportunities for developing professional nurse leaders and the profession in the country often arise as the both partners become acquainted personally and professionally.

This session highlights the experience of two U.S. nursing educators and their partners at Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC), in Siem Reap, Cambodia. While the goal for the visit was to build on previous teaching about the nursing process and expand nurses’ understanding of thinking like a nurse—clinical judgment—the additional professional development opportunities that arose during and since the visit were just as meaningful.

Host and guest partners informally discussed a variety of strategies for starting and sustaining baccalaureate education in Cambodia, including credentialing of current Cambodian nurses through a U.S. university as the degree-grantor and innovative models of baccalaureate education. Other opportunities for professional development came from surprising places, including contact with students and faculty, extending the teaching influence of the institution to include nurses and doctors from the surrounding hospitals, and the last-minute addition of AHC as a stop on STTI President Carol Huston’s itinerary with 22 other nurses.

Current technology supports ongoing global partnering as email, internet resources, such as international calling, offer conveyances for dialogue and networking between both partners and even previous volunteers long after the visit.