Enhancing Leadership in a Chinese Nursing Program

To make high quality health care available around the globe, American organizations such as Project HOPE provide training, technical assistance and expert mentoring to build capacity at all levels of the health care system.  This includes offering assistance from a pool of professional health volunteers to supplement human resources.  In partnering with public and private sectors, HOPE uses a model that teaches health professionals to continually enhance their expertise and improve knowledge.   Expert American nurse educators address the pressing need for Chinese nurse educators which has come about since 1998 when reform began in the world’s largest health professional education system.  The need to strengthen nursing faculty, update curricular content, and emphasize ethical professionalism has been challenged by narrow technical training and admission of students who do not express an interest in nursing as their first career choice.  This reform has been affected by international collaboration and involvement with Chinese nursing in China and abroad, the determination of Chinese leaders to evolve nursing as a unique and ethical profession and the needs of the population for the development of the profession. 
Leadership activities by American nurse educator volunteers involve undergraduate and graduate teaching, role-modeling of effective teaching and evaluation strategies, curriculum and program planning, and offering faculty development and education programs. Critical discussion of integration of Western teaching methods and transfer of Western style teaching requires a high degree of cultural sensitivity on the part of American nurse educator volunteers. 
Leadership exchanges occur as Chinese educators learn about and take advantage of opportunities to enhance their learning.  Exposure to the use of interactive technologies and internet resources, access to professional nursing organizations and conferences and integration of research findings are areas that elevate professional standards.  The leadership exchanges also occur at the clinical practice level, as American nurse educator volunteers promote enhanced cooperation with Chinese nurses in leadership positions in hospitals and community agencies. An example is assuming responsibility as the clinical instructor of nursing students and pairing with nurses at the clinical site.  This addresses a Chinese concern about ensuring nurse accountability for conduct and practice. 
The opportunity to work side by side, on a daily basis, allows for formal and informal discussion. This is identified as one of the key components in leadership development.  When mentoring is continuous, in depth, and over an extended period, the momentum of change is enhanced.  As Chinese nurse educators are exposed to increasing number of American nurse educators they learn to recognize how to use this expertise in a more mature manner.  This places the collaborative assistance provider in the position of needing to be receptive to the changing relationship.  Ongoing dialogue about outcomes becomes critical.