GLOBAL NURSING READER
The Partners In Health Global Nursing Reader is a publication of PIH's Global Nursing Program. The Reader is a bimonthly summary of key articles, resources and news briefs that highlight global nursing and midwifery, social justice and human rights. It will highlightareas where PIH works and issues on which PIH focuses. The Reader will also include information provided by international health organizations, such as the World Health Organization and the International Council of Nurses. This Reader is by no means a comprehensive resource, but rather a way to explore the roles and contributions of nurses and midwives in global health around the world. To subscribe to the Reader, please email Maggie Sabey at .
Issue 2- December 10, 2012
HIV + WOMEN’S HEALTH
Integrating interventions on maternal mortality and morbidity and HIV: A human rights-based framework and approach (Susana Fried et al, Health and Human Rights, December 2012)
This article focuses on the need to integrate efforts addressing maternal mortality and morbidity and HIV with human rights-based approach. The authors stress that maternal health issues and HIV have many of the same “shared structural drivers” causing poor outcomes in resource poor settings. They begin by discussing how HIV increases the incidence of maternal morbidity and mortality and then highlight the four major structural drivers linking maternal health and HIV: gender inequality, gender-based violence, economic disempowerment and HIV-related stigma and discrimination. The article is a must-read for people involved in and/or passionate about HIV and women’s health.
RWANDA
Nurse mentorship to improve the quality of health care in rural Rwanda (Manzi Anatole et al, Nursing Outlook, November 2012)**
Led by Manzi Anatole, a Rwandan nurse who is the Director of Mentoring and Enhanced Supervision of Health Centers (MESH) Program at the PIH Rwanda site (Inshutu Mu Bizima in Kinyarwanda), this article outlines the work of nurse-mentors at 21 rural health centers in Rwanda. These nurse-mentors are the supervisory team in the MESH program, which provides a quality improvement and supervisory approach to improving health care at nurse-led health centers. Since its inception, the MESH program has improved quality-of-care indicators and can serve as a model for supporting nurses in health centers around the world.
NEWS BRIEFS AND MULTIMEDIA
Global Research Nurses E-Learning Short Courses (Global Research Nurses, 2012)
Global Research Nurses, a website devoted to sharing free resources for nurses engaging in global health research around the world, offers three free courses that help introduce nurses to clinical research. Much of the course material has been translated into Chinese, French, Portuguese and Spanish. In addition to these courses, the website also offers many other professional and peer support resources for nursing research. Global Research Nurses is a part of the Global Health Network, a shared digital hub of resources pertaining to global health and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Oxford Tropical Network.
**Denotes a subscription-only resource
GLOBAL NURSING SPOTLIGHT- HAITI
In each issue of the Global Nursing Reader, we will feature nursing and midwifery staff from across the PIH sites. This issue’s Spotlight features Anne Ludovia Orcel and Laure Cynthia Daphnis. These women are the two Clinical Nurse Educators who are building the new nursing education program at Hôpital San Nicolas (HSN) in St. Marc, Haiti, one of PIH’s partner sites with the Haitian Ministry of Health. The program is supported by the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund. Julie Anathan, RN, Nurse Accompagnateur for PIH in Haiti, interviewed Miss Orcel and Miss Daphnis about their nursing experiences in Haiti (“Miss” is the title used for female nurses in Haiti).
From left to right: Miss Daphnis, Miss Orcel and Julie, in the nursing education office at HSN
Julie: What motivated you to become a nurse?
Miss Daphnis: I always like to give care to people. If someone in my family was sick, I was always present to heal. I can say that I had a vocation
Miss Orcel: What motivates me is providing comfort to human suffering. Also, I want to contribute my nursing beliefs to caregivers.
Julie: Where did you go to school for nursing?
Miss Orcel and Miss Daphnis: We studied nursing at the École Nationale d'Nurses in Port-au-Prince.
Julie: What work are you doing now?
Miss Daphnis: Currently I am a nurse educator at Hôpital San Nicolas (HSN) in St. Marc, Haiti. I'm coaching, training, and support of nurses and auxiliaries.
Miss Orcel: Currently I am a nurse educator atHSN in pediatrics and maternity.
Julie: What has been your biggest challenge as a nurse?
Miss Orcel: My biggest challenge is to convince the nurses that they can provide quality care with low resources they have.
Miss Daphnis: My biggest challenge I encountered was when I began working as a nurse educator. It was not easy to start with the training of nurses for the hospital here, where nursing education did not exist before. I used to teach in nursing schools but training staff nurses at the hospital was not the same. And in addition, training for behavior change was not easy. But I start this challenge and I think I will succeed.
Julie: As you think about your career as a nurse, describe a time when you have been most proud of your work.
Miss Daphnis: Given that I do not have a long career as a nurse yet, I cannot tell too extraordinary situations. But I'm going to mention one situation. When I was doing my social service just after completing my nursing studies, I had to work a night in pediatrics from 8 pm to 8 am. Just before starting the night, there was an unusual power outage. I was forced to take a flashlight to go into pediatrics. I was the only nurse in the service and I managed to give care to all of the babies. That night, I even saved the life of a baby who almost died. The parents were so happy and expressed their gratitude. At that moment I was very proud of my work as a nurse.
Miss Orcel: I think we have a real lack of management in our hospitals and I think as a nurse educator, I can ensure the smooth running of the system while continuing ensure quality of care through education. A situation that I'm proud to see is at the end of each day, my presence made a very big difference in the system.
Miss Daphnis: I give this advice to other nurses: "You practice a noble profession. Strive to practice with awareness. Instead of lowering the level of nursing, strive to improve it by showing others what you really worth."
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PIH GLOBAL NURSING PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Nurses represent the largest proportion of health care professionals in the world. They work in a diverse array of inpatient, outpatient and community-based roles and in a variety of specialty areas. The nurses who work for Partners In Health (PIH) are no exception. Nurses also represent a large share of staff members employed by PIH across nine different countries (Haiti, Kazakhstan, Lesotho, Malawi, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Rwanda and the USA). Additionally, nurses work at PIH partner projects in a variety of countries, including Burundi, Liberia and Guatemala. PIH nurses work in internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery, women’s health, emergency medicine, infectious disease and oncology specialties, in hospitals and in community settings. Nurses are fundamental to providing quality health care across the globe and are the backbone of the health care systems at PIH country sites.
The Global Nursing Program at PIH is directed by Sheila Davis, DNP, ANP, FAAN. The Program accompanies the nurses at PIH sites to:
§ To develop best practices in global nursing care through the integration of research, teaching and service.
§ To improve nursing care delivered at PIH sites by strengthening nursing education and specialty expertise
§ To increase the visibility of nurses and nursing leaders at the country and site levels to enhance nursing contributions to improving patient care and to provide professional development opportunities.
For more information about Partners In Health, please visit http://www.pih.org