Capacity Building Partnership for Global Nursing

Purpose: Strengthening nursing capacity and enhancing the knowledge of nurses worldwide is recognized as a global imperative by the World Health Organization. Strengthening the nursing education infrastructure is essential to building nursing capacity as well as improving patient care outcomes. The purpose of this presentation is to communicate the process and structure of capacity building in the development of a graduate nursing education program in a underserved country where nursing seeks to be acknowledged and recognized as a fully contributing health care profession as defined by international standards. 

Methods: The first master in science of nursing program in Vietnam is the result of a partnership between a nongovernmental organization (NGO) in the United States and a public university in Vietnam (University). The process and structure of the development of a graduate nursing education program including curriculum planning and revisions, implementation, and evaluation rely on the strengths and resources of each partner. Nursing faculty from the United States with expertise in graduate nursing education and research teach nursing courses and serve as research mentors. Vietnamese university faculty teach non-nursing courses and serve as research mentors. Program logistics, management and evaluation are successfully achieved through communication and collaboration between three members of the NGO steering committee and leadership at the University. Details of the curriculum structure, exemplars of teaching learning activities including distance education strategies will be discussed. The essential dimensions of and challenges to effective collaboration in global education will be discussed. 

Results: Methodologies for program monitoring with measurement of progress and achievement of outcomes will be reported as well as program outcomes. Program outcome results, quantitative and qualitative of graduate nursing program will be reported. Outcomes related to human resource capacity building will be provided. Outcomes are linked to generation of nursing knowledge development and capacity building in nursing education and practice. 

Conclusion: International nursing education partnerships are productive and mutually benefit all stakeholders. Obstacles are minimized by the synergy of the collaborative efforts by members of the partnership. Future nursing education development needs to focus on resources availability and sustainability.