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The American International Health Alliance's Nursing Toolkit has been designed to help healthcare institutions worldwide strengthen their nursing programs by learning from and following the effective models and methods AIHA has established together with our partners in nations of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
Nurse Professionals Key to Strengthening Healthcare Institutions
No matter where a person lives or what the circumstances, skilled nurses play an important role in the provision of healthcare services. Well-trained nurses are not only critical to patient care, but also to the efficient operation of the healthcare system and the overall health and well-being of communities and even nations.
In many developing and transitioning countries, nurses face a number of barriers that can and often do prevent them from receiving the support they need to help deliver effective care. Some of these barriers include a lack of professional standards and guidelines, lack of training and educational opportunities, and an outdated vision of what skilled nurses can contribute to the healthcare system.
Since 1992, AIHA has worked to establish nursing as an independent and vital profession, and in turn has helped improve the quality of healthcare in resource-constrained communities around the world.
How to Use This Toolkit
The modules listed below are presented beginning with information on establishing a Nursing Resource Center, but please note it is not necessary to establish an NRC before learning about or implementing other programs. We recommend first reading through the information we have included in this toolkit to get an overview before attempting to apply any of these models and methods.
Also, while we recommend following the basic structures we have outlined to achieve the best outcomes, we also encourage you to adapt the methods and models provided to make them fit your particular situation in the best possible way.
Primary Healthcare Nursing Module
A 1978 WHO/UNICEF conference set forth the definition of primary healthcare as follows:
"Primary healthcare is essential healthcare based on practical scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community through their full participation and at a cost that the community and the country can afford to maintain at every stage of their development in the spirit of self-determination."
Although primary healthcare was accepted by all the member countries of WHO and is considered key to achieving their goal of “health for all,” many healthcare professionals—particularly nurses—have received no training in the delivery of primary healthcare services.
Recognizing this, AIHA and its partners designed a curriculum for skills-based primary care nurse training in topics ranging from performing physical assessments to communication skills and health promotion activities. Click the link above to access these materials, which will help you to build a training program at your own institution.
Nursing Associations Module
There is power in collaboration and one of the most powerful ways to collaborate is through a professional association. A professional association brings together individuals who share similar goals, providing them a rich forum in which to share, learn, debate, and further their mission. In turn, professional associations can be—and most often are—of service to both the individual member and to society at large which benefits from their findings and programs.
AIHA identified a critical need to advance the nursing profession worldwide and recognized that in many nations, nurses were undervalued and underutilized. One way AIHA has worked to raise the status of nurses-and therefore also strengthen healthcare institutions-is through helping its partners begin new professional nursing associations in partner countries.
This module outlines steps you can take to build or strengthen a nursing association in your area. Click the above link to access this module.
Nursing Leadership Module
In 1999, AIHA established the International Nursing leadership Institute (INLI) as part of a broader initiative in support of advancing the profession of nursing in the countries of the former Soviet Union. Developed in conjunction with leading US. Nursing professionals, INLI provided a yearlong learning experience in which nurse from this region could gain the skills and knowledge necessary to become successful leaders and mentors in their own countries. Each INLI nurse continued to work in his/her home country throughout the program, traveling to attend three intensive, one-week class sessions and international nursing meetings.
This module contains materials that you can use to replicate a similar nursing leadership training program. Click the link above to access this module.
Nursing Resource Centers Module
Since 1997, AIHA has worked with 24 partners worldwide, helping them strengthen their healthcare institutions by establishing Nursing Resource Centers (NRCs), many of them equipped with computers with Internet access, as well as textbooks, videotapes, and anatomical models that are used by nursing faculty, students, and practitioners to guide and support them in their professional development efforts. These NRCs have now become self-sustaining training centers and resource repositories.
Even if you don't currently have access to electronic tools such as computers with Internet access, you can still establish an NRC using various resources you do have that will benefit your nursing staff and entire healthcare institution. Learn about implementing an NRC at your institution by clicking the link above.
You may now select a module:
- Primary Healthcare Nursing Module
- Nursing Associations Module
- Nursing Leadership Module
- Nursing Resource Centers Module
