Tau Iota in Action!

Sunday, 16 September 2018

Catherine Ann Kush, DNP, GNP-BC
School of Nursing, Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes Jewish College, St. Louis, MO, USA
Pamela Newland, PhD, RN, CMSRN
School of Nursing, Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes Jewish College, St Louis, MO, USA

Background/Statement of the Problem: Communities in the Midwest and those in various global settings share in economics disparities and lack of services. In an effort to respond to the President’s Call to Action- Collaborate, Connect, and Catalyze, the purpose of Tau Iota Chapter’s Related Best Practice Action was to provide chapter activities and leadership involvement to these communities.

The goal of this effort was to connect students’ and members in order to motivate their engagement in a community outreach. In addition, a secondary goal was to develop opportunities to collaborate on a startup project related to a global initiative. Several members participated in the community outreach for the local area. For example, in collaboration with Kingdom House, we worked to donate Christmas items, and a working “gift wrapping day”. Likewise, several other members plan a trip to Peru and Nigeria in order to catalyze actions for our chapter. In addition, other global projects included providing donation for Days to Girls for the Peru and Nigeria projects. Specifically, Days for Girls provide menstrual hygiene products to girls and women.

Outcomes of these events were that implementation of leadership and chapter programming will continue to enhance future relationships for community and global outreach. Nurses from academic, hospital, and volunteer organizations are expected to form global health partnerships. Many of these partnerships are funded for specific time periods and have short- or long-term goals to achieve during the partnership. In April 2018, over 15 healthcare workers (including Sigma members, faculty, and community nurses) will go to Peru... Thus, we hope to demonstrate feasibility of a sustainable outcomes for health-related promotion as well as financial support.

Implications for leadership and membership engagement include educating students and other members on the importance of nursing outreach to regional and global communities. This action by Tau Iota will advance the visibility of Sigma to provide evidence-based nursing and collaboration for future research initiatives.

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