Global Collaboration in Nursing and Midwifery “Talking it out”

Abstract

Collaboration between disciplines is essential to furthering clinical and academic progress in healthcare, particularly for Nursing and Midwifery. With rapid advances in health care related technology, additional options for cross- continental interactions present themselves. This article provides a description of a discussion between Nurses and Midwives engaged in a formal program of capacity building and skills transfer. Nurses and Midwives from Rwanda, the United States and the diaspora discussed definitions of collaboration along with identification of specific barriers and facilitators to efforts at global collaboration. Key findings include an increased need for cross-cultural and intergenerational activities to promote understanding while increasing productivity. This article provides an example of a strategy used to promote collaboration among nurses and midwives in Eastern Africa. The approach took advantage of the Global Innovations in Nursing and Midwifery Conference, which brought together over 300 nurses from Eastern Africa, as an opportunity to unite nurses and midwives from Eastern Africa to discuss issues of importance to nursing and midwifery through the use of small group discussions. The focus of these discussions, Nurses and Midwives: Talking it Out, was to explore the concepts of global collaboration among practicing and student nurses and midwifes. The small groups were established by specialty areas of practice and the dialogues were coordinated and facilitated by group leaders. The goal was to discuss ways to increase collective practice.

Keywords: global collaboration, nursing issues, human resources for health (HRH), nursing and midwifery, Rwanda