Yale nursing school has international focus

The dean of Yale’s School of Nursing has underlined the importance of international collaboration within healthcare education for it to have the maximum impact.

Ann Kurth understands that, while research projects in nursing are beneficial, they need to be shared with other countries, particularly developing countries, for them to realize their potential.

“It’s not sufficient anymore to simply secure a grant, conduct a four-year randomized trial, produce a few papers and feel the job is finished. If we’re going to have a meaningful impact on health conditions today we must also take that work, the evidence discovered, and put it into practice at scale,” Kurth told Yale News.

The value of global interdependence has been central to Kurth’s career. She said that understanding how a problem or solution in one part of the world can affect another place is vital to spreading messages.

Yale nursing’s international approach brings care and education to Africa. Ann Kurth , dean of Yale’s School of Nursing, has spearheaded several projects to improve healthcare systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. pic.twitter.com/1TmSV95fyl

— Yale African Studies (@Yale_CAS) February 27, 2018

She aims to share findings in nursing across national borders so they can help countries with fewer research resources.

Faculty members and students from Yale’s School of Nursing have helped in Africa with HIV support, palliative care, oncology and reproductive health.

Rose Nanyonga Clarke, a Ugandan PhD student, returned to her home country after graduation and became the vice chancellor of the International Health Sciences University.

The university offers world-class training to a new generation of nurses and houses a newborn intensive care unit and an ambulance system connected to 22 clinics.

“To see how Rose has used her Yale education to have such a powerful impact on the health of her community and continent is phenomenal. It serves as the perfect example for every student at our school,” said Kurth.

Kurth believes that good healthcare education across the globe is essential for the successful development of countries, and this is central to the school’s teaching.

“Our school’s official mission statement is ‘Better health for all people’, so embedded in that is the idea of equity,” she said. “Everyone deserves a healthy life, and access to equitable, quality healthcare. That frames what we do every day.”

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