Inter-Professional Collaboration: Making a Difference Locally and Globally

Monday, 22 July 2013: 1:50 PM

Rebecca Lee Meyer, RN, BSN, MSN, PhD
School of Nursing, California Baptist University, Riverside, CA

Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to evaluate the importance of working in partnership and leading inter-professional teams to coordinate patient-centered care.

Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to examine successful graduate student projects used on a local or global level to decrease health disparities.

The purpose of this project is to explore evidence-based educational strategies used in the undergraduate and graduate curriculum related to international health in order to make a change on the local or global level. The United Nations identified eight areas of health disparities worldwide: poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, and discrimination against women. Improving educational strategies which target knowledge, skills, and affective learning related to the global burden of disease will increase awareness of universal access to primary healthcare and decrease health disparities. Graduate nursing students are required to examine effectiveness of current local and global intervention programs, identify health disparities on the local, national, and global level, and design a plan to lead an inter-professional team. The American Academy of Colleges of Nursing’ Master’s Essentials requires graduate nurses to improve care across diverse settings, demonstrate leadership, work as change agents, employ advocacy techniques, collaborate with other healthcare professionals, and evaluate population based care to aggregates. Students research current health issues, access to primary care, and develop strategies to work in partnership by leading an inter-professional team on a local or global level. This collaborative project enables the students to determine an area of focus, roles for each team member, important information about the area, and supplies needed for the team. The projects are designed to be utilized on the local level, with the ability to also be used in another country. Each project is then presented as a professional poster to an inter-professional group. This project allows the students to become more aware of the emerging global trends and how they can utilize their expertise to make a difference either by helping the homeless in their neighborhood or by teaching about clean water or giving immunizations to children across the globe.