Professional Links: International Nursing Exchange Program

Thursday, 20 July 2006
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Thursday, 20 July 2006
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Judy A. Reinhold, RN, MSN, CPNP, Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA, Kathleen A. Zink, RN, MSN, LMT, Division of Patient Services - Adolescent Unit, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA, and Clare Duane, RN, Regional Center for Newborn Intensive Care, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA.

Learner Objective #1: The learner will be able to describe a program format for international nursing professional and student exchange experiences.

Learner Objective #2: The learner will be able to describe existing research projects and professional collaboration initiatives within the Professional Links program.

Description/Overview: The Professional Links program was developed in 1996 as an international professional nursing exchange program. The purpose was to develop collaborative relationships with professional counterparts in Cincinnati, Ohio and Edinburgh, Scotland and to improve nursing practice and cultural competence. Several group delegations have visited the two clinical sites.

Two areas of focus have evolved from this ongoing collaboration: 1) Professionals within the exchange program have shared information about service delivery models and have utilized this information to develop process improvement proposals in their respective clinical areas. 2) A nursing student exchange program has existed with the support of both clinical locations. Senior nursing students from Edinburgh, Scotland have spent extended clinical rotations in Cincinnati in their clinical areas of interest. Returning to Scotland, they have utilized these experiences to pursue clinical positions after graduation.

The Professional Links program continues to provide clinical rotation experiences for students and to foster and maintain professional collaboration and research project development. The experience of stepping into another culture and its health care practices has validated the importance of nursing collegiality. In addition, there appeared to be more similarities than differences in clinical practice, with the primary focus on patients/families and improving outcomes. Collaboration projects will be described, including information about service delivery models and the student exchange program. Potential areas for future research with a focus on evidence-based practice will be outlined.

Learning Objective #1: describe a program format for international nursing professional and student exchange experiences.
Learning Objective #2: describe existing research projects and professional collaboration initiatives within the Professional Links program.