International collaboration in pediatric nursing: mutual learning success.

This article describes an innovative international collaboration between a children's hospital in the United Kingdom and a university school of nursing in the United States that created opportunities for networking among nurses in similar specialties. Nurses from two countries joined in an educational partnership to share dialogue and clinical experience in the United Kingdom. In the current economic climate, pediatric staff nurses across the globe are rarely able to travel and learn from one another. Staff nurses at the bedside are often unable to attend continuing education or academic offerings to broaden their perspectives of care delivery. The expense of travel and the challenge of coordinating logistics often make the chance to meet pediatric nurses abroad only a dream. To make this dream a reality, a partnership was created. The goal of this partnership was to create an international course for nurses who would not otherwise have the opportunity to travel. The vision was a 2-day exchange that would allow a group of RN-to-BSN students from Western Carolina University and a group of staff nurses from an urban hospital in the United Kingdom to compare the challenges of rural and urban pediatric care. The visiting American nurses were paired with English staff nurses working in similar specialty areas: inpatient clinics , outpatient clinics, home care, and a school for developmentally challenged pediatric patients. REVIEW OF LITERATURE International exposure for nurses is encouraged by Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing and the American Nurses Association (American Nurses Association, 2003; Sullivan, 2008). Sigma Theta Tau off ers many programs that promote international nursing collaborations. International educational collaborations allow linking of leadership opportunities, learning advocacy roles, and ethical accountability (Leppa & Terry, 2004). Educational collaborations have shown that international exposure increases global nursing care perspectives as well as cultural sensitivity (Bennett & Holtz, 2008; Gerrish, 2004). The importance of transcultural nursing has been recognized since the formative work of Leininger (1999). Broadening nurses' global perspectives facilitates leadership development and preparation (Schim, Doorenbois, & Borse, 2005). A multitude of volunteer organizations promote cultural exchange and awareness, including UNICEF, People to People International, and Project Hope. A variety of programs offer hands-on clinical care and diversity through team methods (Kuehn et al., 2005; Lindahl, Dagborn, & Nilsson, 2008). San Francisco State University's school of nursing has initiated travel programs to Italy, Peru, Thailand, Ghana, and the United Kingdom, with a goal of exposing students to differences and similarities in family-centered care (Perry & Mander, 2005). Johns Hopkins University formed a partnership with Haiti Medical Mission, which provides health services to the poor of Leon, Haiti (Sloand & Groves, 2005). The purpose was for Haitian practitioners to demonstrate culturally sensitive care, showing the U.S. nurses the differences in illnesses. Some nursing collaborations focus on leadership development on a global level (Girot & Enders, 2004; Leh, Waldspurger, & Albin, 2004). Nurses become knowledgeable about disparities in care among the world's most at-risk populations (Chinn, 2005). CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK The conceptual framework for the educational collaboration was based on a view of nursing practice as encouraging patient advocacy, seeking accountability for patients, and becoming a nursing activist for pediatric clients and families (Garner, Metcalfe, & Hallyburton, 2009). For the university course, this framework was adapted to encompass the emerging model of Engaging Tomorrow's International Nursing Leaders to experience leadership development (Garner et al., 2009) (Figure 1). …