Dual degrees and International collaborations: Best practices

33^rd Euro Nursing & Medicare Summit

October 08-10, 2018 | Edinburgh, Scotland

Marie T O Toole

Rutgers University, USA

Keynote: Adv Practice Nurs

Abstract :

Statement of the Problem: Health is a global concern. Diseases cross international boundaries, as do health care providers. There is a worldwide shortage of nurses prepared to respond to the needs of diverse populations both locally and globally. The Bologna Accord is an educational reform movement that profoundly influenced nursing education in the European Union. The need for more information on this and other programs that support cost-effective models and mechanisms encouraging global collaborations that prepare a well-educated global workforce is critical. Methodology: A consortium of academic institutions from the United States and the European Union worked collaboratively to explore funding mechanisms in both governmental and non-governmental agencies that support the preparation of health care professionals for international educational activities. Long-term follow up of participants in existing programs was conducted via social media outreach, personal communication and interviews with both faculty and student participants. Results: Best practices for the creation of sustainable international partnerships that advance the preparation of a global workforce exist. Those practices include internal and external funding to support collaboration, the development of a degree program that does not extend the length of study for participants and exchanges that specifically address the need for knowledge, skills and language capabilities that prepare students for practice in multiple settings. Opportunities also exist for nurses in practice to participate in meaningful global outreach with appropriate educational preparation.

Biography :

Marie T O’Toole has completed her EdD in Rutgers University Graduate School of Education in 1992 and MSN as well as BSN in University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. She has served as the Editor of multiple editions of dictionaries and encyclopedias, including the award winning Mosby Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing and Health Professions. She continues to edit the Mosby series of dictionaries. She has been involved in international outreach related to rehabilitation and curriculum development. In 2017 she served as a Fulbright Specialist in Jordan. She was the Founding Chair of Nurses Overseas, a division of Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO). The nursing division provides an opportunity for nurse faculty to work with their colleagues in developing countries. She is a Member of the 2003 Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow cohort. Her Fellow project focused on supporting transcultural expertise in undergraduate students. While serving as the Chair of Nazareth College her faculty received the Innovation Award for the establishment of a dual degree program with two schools in the European Union. She currently serves, as the Senior Associate Dean at Rutgers, Camden School of Nursing. In recognition of her work, she has garnered numerous awards including an honorary doctorate from Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary, the presidential “Call to Service Award” from the G W Bush Administration, and Fellowship in the American Academy of Nursing.