Fill in the Blank...The Experience of a Nurse Educator in Haiti

Purpose:

The scarcity of qualified nurse educators is a global issue and even more pronounced in developing countries, like Haiti, due to the lack of educational infrastructure. Sponsored by HCR Manor, Care, The Haitian American Nurses Association of Florida (HANA) initiated  a “Teaching Initiative Project” at the Faculté des Sciences Infirmières de Léogane (FSIL)” in Haiti. FSIL recruits nursing students who possess brilliant and hungry minds simply waiting to be stimulated, challenged and engaged. These future nurses are eager for learning opportunities. The purpose of this project was to engage Haitian American nurse educators from the United States to travel to Haiti to teach at FSIL and  to introduce Haitian nursing students to innovative, interactive teaching/learning methods.

Methods:

Assignments, interactive class activities and exams were developed and administered to afford nursing students the opportunity to correlate theory to practice in order to stimulate and develop critical thinking skills. 

Results:

The Students met the course objectives and obtained passing grades on the exams. They also demonstrated critical thinking skills during interactive classroom presentations and skills performance.  

Conclusion:

Using innovative teaching approaches to empower future Haitian nurses with higher level of critical thinking skills is a worthy investment necessary to revolutionize Haiti’s health system. Strategies to overcome barriers and maximize the teaching and learning experience are further discussed.