The School of Nursing and Health Studies’ PAHO/WHO
Collaborating Center offers sustainable nurse educator
training and health care workforce development to students
in Guyana.
UM News sat down with Mary Mckay, associate professor of
clinical and associate dean for undergraduate programs at
the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health
Studies, and with Deborah Salani, assistant professor
of clinical at the School of Nursing and Health Studies, to
learn more about SONHS’s collaboration with the Pan-American Health Organization/World
Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). The collaboration
strives to enrich education and training for nurses and
nurse educators in Guyana, a South American country that is
culturally connected to the Caribbean region and is
considered part of the Anglophone and “mainland” Caribbean.
UM News:How and why did the UM School
of Nursing and Health Studies (SONHS) begin offering
nursing education consultation and a certificate of
nursing education in Caribbean countries?
Mary Mckay: In 2008, SONHS was designated a
Pan-American Health Organization/World
Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) Collaborating Center,
one of only ten such centers in the U.S., a designation
renewed in 2016 by PAHO/WHO for another four years. As a
Collaborating Center, our School commits to working together
with PAHO/WHO to achieve its goals, including increasing
nursing workforce and nursing education capacity in
Caribbean countries.
SONHS partners with health ministries, PAHO/WHO sub-regional
offices, nursing schools and hospitals throughout the
Caribbean to design and implement sustainable methods to
teach nursing and deliver care using “best practices.” A
highlight was hosting leaders of nursing education for a
two-day workshop during summer 2016. Representatives from 18
Caribbean island nations traveled to Miami for a seminar
targeted at achieving nursing education reform, including
standardization of nursing curricula and nurse educator
competencies, and common accreditation requirements across
nursing schools in the Caribbean region.
About the Photo
Nurse education students in Guyana taking an exam as part
of the hybrid certificate program in Guyana offered
through the SONHS and Pan-American Health
Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO)
Collaborating Center.
One of our Collaborating Center’s most exciting activities to
date is the hybrid Certificate in Nursing Education program for
Guyana’s nurse educators. In Guyana, nursing education is
overseen by the nation’s Ministry of Health and, as in many
Caribbean countries, there is a severe nursing and nursing
faculty shortage due to the “brain drain” of professionals
immigrating to the U.S. and other first-world countries. The aim
of our four-course certificate program is to help alleviate this
shortage by teaching participants to deliver quality nursing
education using best practices and by building their capacity to
train other faculty. In turn, this helps increase the pool of
teaching faculty and promotes systemic and sustainable
improvements in Guyana’s nursing education infrastructure.
Deborah Salani: Professor Mckay and I strongly
believe the partnership with SONHS and PAHO/WHO can increase
nursing capacity in Guyana and prepares the country’s
next-generation nursing workforce to deliver high-quality, safe
and competent patient care.
UM News:When did the collaboration begin
and how did it progress?
Mckay: In 2015, in preparation for launching the
course, SONHS first hosted two delegations from Guyana—the
directors and senior nurse tutors—from the nation’s four nursing
schools. They were able to learn about U.S. nursing education
methodologies and to observe clinical instruction in action
during visits to SONHS’ community partner hospitals, and compare
these with Guyana’s delivery of education and clinical teaching
for aspiring nurses, which is very different. The delegation
also observed nursing education strategies used by SONHS
clinical faculty to bridge didactic and clinical content. We
emphasized the connection between clinical instruction and
classroom learning. The directors and nurse tutors attended and
participated in simulation activities. Then, we mentored 26
Guyana nurse educators teaching in Guyana through the hybrid
certificate course, which ran from November 2015 to June 2016.
Preliminary evaluations indicate the course is already impacting
Guyana’s nursing education community. Guyana nurse faculty
report that they are identifying their strengths and weaknesses
and are integrating a variety of innovative teaching strategies
into their work as nursing educators.
Salani: From the beginning, we employed
culturally appropriate strategies. We first conducted a
baseline assessment of the Guyana nursing tutors’
educational needs and used this data to customize course
content to specific challenges facing nursing education in
Guyana. We worked within their system. Our goals included
empowering the nurse educators so they would gain a new and
useful perspective on nursing education methods and
evaluation measures. In addition to focusing on the theory
and principles of nursing education, we taught the Guyana
nurse tutors how to develop tools to customize their own
curricula. Dr. Mckay and I delivered a weekly e-lecture to
course participants and traveled to Guyana four times to
conduct on-site training. During the last visit, Dr. Mckay
and I observed and graded course participants’ final
projects, which was to design and conduct their own
innovative teaching strategies.
UM News:What was the most meaningful
part of this experience?
Salani: We were pleased to see the tutors’
enthusiasm and passion for learning and their willingness to
embrace technology utilized with the online hybrid model.
The tutors’ progression from utilizing traditional teaching
methods to more progressive methods that increased student
engagement was rewarding.
Mckay: I was very impressed with the level
of dedication to this project from all of those involved,
including the Guyana Ministry of Health officials, the
PAHO/WHO Guyana office, tutors and staff. Prior to my
involvement with this project I did not know much about the
Guyanese culture. I now have a much deeper understanding and
appreciation for the culture.
The partnership between UM SONHS, PAHO/WHO, Guyana’s Health
Ministry and the country’s nursing school directors and
educators demonstrates the success of strong collaboration
and understanding.
“I believe the course will have a continuing positive impact
on Guyana nursing education,” says Johis Ortega, associate
dean for Master’s Programs and Global Initiatives at SONHS
and director of the Collaborating Center. “Ultimately, more
highly motivated educators and a more stimulating learning
experience will lead to great nursing student success, which
in turn results in a more highly trained nursing workforce
and improved patient care for Guyana’s patients.”
