Global Partnerships for Professional Development: A Cambodian Exemplar

Kathie Lasater, Michele Upvall, Ann Nielsen, Manila Prak, Richard Ptachcinski

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

Nurses have been volunteering to provide direct patient care in developing countries for several decades. As a result, countries have begun to develop their health care workforce capacity and standards of care, but educational and professional development needs have emerged. Global partnerships involving volunteers can assist developing countries to fulfill these needs, but little literature focuses on maximizing volunteers' experiences. Through global partnerships and collaboration, the leadership and academic capacity of nurses and other health care professionals in developing countries can be enhanced. In Cambodia specifically, the Khmer Rouge executed many educated health care personnel in the late 1970s, effectively eliminating a generation of mentors and leaders that could facilitate the professional development of the current workforce. One outcome may be the dearth of baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs in Cambodia. Two teams of U.S. volunteers and one of their Cambodian partners, a nursing education coordinator at a nongovernmental children's hospital, offer their experiences in collaborating, including the mutual benefits to both of such a partnership and the lessons learned. The authors will delineate several exemplars from their experiences of teaching and professional development.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)62-68
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Professional Nursing
Volume28
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2012

Keywords

  • Global partnership
  • Nurse volunteers
  • Professional development
  • Staff development

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Nursing

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