Northern Nursing Education

Transcription

1 Proposal for a University of the Arctic Thematic Network on Northern Nursing Education Lead Institution: University of Saskatchewan Contact and Network Coordinator: Heather Exner-Pirot Address: 104 Clinic Place, Saskatoon SK, S7N 5B4, Canada heather.exner@usask.ca Phone: Co-Lead Institution: UiT The Arctic University of Norway Contact: Bente Norbye bente.norbye@uit.no Phone: Co-Lead Institution: North Eastern Federal University Contact: Nikolay Semenovich Diachkovskii nsd2004@list.ru Phone: Thematic Focus The proposed thematic network will focus on northern nursing education. Specifically, the overarching goals of the network would be to: 1) share best practices in northern nursing education, in particular distributed/decentralized models; and 2) document these models and best practices in order to promote the establishment of additional northern, rural and remote nursing programs in the eight circumpolar states. Accessible nursing education is critical to the long term stability and effectiveness of northern health care systems and a key component in building northern capacity to manage key local services. 2. Goals and Planned Activities of the Network The goal of this Network is to address the accessibility and quality of baccalaureate nursing education in northern regions. The development of a stable, local nursing workforce in the High North promises to improve community health, wellness and self-sufficiency. Through establishing a network of institutions providing decentralized/distributed nursing education to northern communities, in Norway, Canada, Siberia, Finland, and Greenland, we hope to improve the pedagogy of northern nursing education, share best practices, and

2 form a community of students and educators in an annual Innovative Learning Institute on Circumpolar Health to jointly examine and improve the clinical practice of nursing in a northern context. In order to improve the quality and quantity of northern nursing programs, this project will: Conduct research assessing pedagogies and didactics most appropriate for northern nursing education; Share best practices amongst northern nursing educators at biannual UArctic Thematic Network on Northern Nursing Education meetings, and a concomitant survey tracking northern nursing education programs, pedagogical models, and recruitment & retention rates; Establish an Innovative Learning Institute for Circumpolar Health to allow northern nursing students to meet and learn from their counterparts around the Circumpolar North; Evaluate the regulation of nursing practice in a northern context across the circumpolar North; Explore different uses of technology, including remote presence technology, to improve accessibility and quality of clinical instruction and continuing education by using technology to develop pedagogics suitable for health care students in the high north; and Facilitate the transfer of knowledge between circumpolar health researchers, and nursing educators and students. 3. Inclusion of Indigenous Issues Amongst the primary goals of this Network is to make nursing education accessible in rural and remote areas of the Circumpolar North. In general, these are areas of high indigenous population. Indigenous students are more likely to be parents, have significant family commitments, and have less funding available for relocation, making it more likely that they will pursue a post-secondary education only if it is offered close to their home communities. The Northern Nursing Education Network will evaluate best practices in offering decentralized or distributed nursing education in order to be more accessible to indigenous students, and will examine ways in which that education can be made contextually and culturally relevant for those communities. It will also provide student mobility opportunities for indigenous and non-indigenous Northerners that accommodate the family demands often disproportionately experienced by them, e.g. short term and fully funded learning opportunities.

3 Finally, the Network will seek to conduct research, and integrate into the member s curriculum, opportunities and strategies for Nursing to include indigenous healing practices and medicines in northern health care. 4. Quality Control of the Network To date, the activities of the Northern Nursing Network have been conducted in a consensual and mutually collaborative fashion with lots of opportunity for input and feedback from the various members. This has resulted in high quality outcomes and funding success and as the Network expands its membership and activities, we are confident it will continue this way. The University of Saskatchewan has devoted administrative capacity to the Network through the role of Dr. Heather Exner-Pirot as Coordinator of the Network. 5. Benefit to UArctic Members The proposed UArctic Thematic Network on Northern Nursing Education would benefit UArctic members by providing greater focus on innovative models for post-secondary education delivery in the health sciences field, which has been slower to innovate in distance and decentralized delivery models than other programming for a number of reasons. Nursing is a profession with high demand in almost all circumpolar regions and communities, and it would be of real benefit to UArctic member institutions and their community stakeholders to improve the accessibility of a nursing education. Lessons learned from this TN will also translate to a variety of professional colleges and health science disciplines, which are currently underrepresented in UArctic TNs and activities. Due to the programmatic nature of this TN, it will also serve as a useful conduit to transfer research and knowledge gained through the activities of other TNs to Nursing educators and students who live and work in circumpolar communities. 6. Existing Funding The Network has quite successful in receiving funding for related activities. The Network received an award from the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research funding Scheme for Cooperative Projects within the University of the Arctic in July 2014, held by UiT The Arctic University of Norway. The funded activites include research assistance, two meetings (one of co-leads UiT and USask in November 2014, and the other for all members in Reykjavik in April 2015, formally establishing the Network); faculty exchange (to occur in June 2015); and student mobility. The University of Saskatchewan has been awarded (December 2013) funding through Grand Challenges Canada to support the transfer of technology for distributed nursing education and clinical practice to North Eastern Federal University; and funding from the

4 International Centre for Northern Governance and Development for student and faculty mobility to visit NEFU for a Summer Institute on Circumpolar Health in August UiT and USask have also received over 1.5 million NOK from the SIU High North Programme to support the activities articulated in this proposal over the period, including biannual network meetings, student mobility, join course development (an annual Innovative Institute on Circumpolar Health) and join research on northern nursing education and clinical practice. 7. Linkages with Other Thematic Networks The most obvious linkages for the proposed UArctic TN on Northern Nursing Education is the TN on Distance Education and E-Learning, who could provide best practices on integrating technology into learning, particularly from a health science perspective; and/or use northern nursing education as case studies in its work; and the TN on Health and Well- Being, which we could use to filter relevant health research to nurse educators and students in the North to apply in their clinical practice, and alert Nursing students to the opportunity in the Master s program on Circumpolar Health. 8. Northern Nursing Education Network Members Membership in the TN will be open to any UArctic institution that offers a baccalaureatelevel nursing education program in a northern region, leading to a Registered Nurse professional designation. The following members have confirmed their interest and participation: - Dalhousie University (Nunavut program) Nancy Edgecombe - Lapland University of Applied Sciences Outi Hyry-Honka - North Eastern Federal University Nikolai Diachkovskii - Nunavut Arctic College Sally Naphan - Oulu University of Applied Sciences - Kaijaleena Serlo - UiT The Arctic University of Norway Bente Norbye - University College of the North Vicki Zeran - University of Northern British Columbia Martha MacLeod - University of Saskatchewan Lorna Butler - University of Victoria (NWT program) Karen MacKinnon All Canadian universities with a known northern nursing education program have been invited to be members in the Network, as have University of Alaska, University of Greenland and University of Akureyri. We will also explore options to invite more Russian members in the Summer 2015.

5 Memo To: Lars Kullerud, President, University of the Arctic From: Ernie Barber, Interim Provost and Vice-President Academic Date: March 10, 2015 Subject: Support for the Thematic Network on Northern Nursing Education Dear Mr. Kullerud, I am writing to you today to lend my support, in my capacity as Interim Provost and Vice-President Academic of the University of Saskatchewan, to the proposed Thematic Network in Northern Nursing Education. The College of Nursing Dean, Dr. Lorna Butler, will be the Network Lead, and Dr. Heather Exner-Pirot will be the Coordinator. The goals and activities of the proposed Network align very well with the University of Saskatchewan s strategic priorities, in particular Aboriginal Engagement and Innovation in Programs. The College of Nursing has been a leader in making a nursing education accessible to rural and remote areas. The opportunity to share our model, as well as learn from others doing similar work, would be an important contribution to improving nursing education accessibility in the Circumpolar North and beyond. The College of Nursing will support its participation in and leadership of the Network through grant funding, current operating funds and in-kind resources. We are confident that the University of the Arctic, which has a long history of positive relations with the University of Saskatchewan, will find the Thematic Network on Northern Nursing Education to be an excellent circumpolar initiative of real importance to the North. Please accept this letter as confirmation for the University of Saskatchewan s support for this initiative. Sincerely, Ernie Barber Interim Provost and Vice-President Academic c: Lorna Butler, Dean, College of Nursing Heather Exner-Pirot, Coordinator, Northern Nursing Education Network Kirsi Latola, Thematic Network Coordinator, UArctic