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PIONEERS
OF
PRACTICE
By Amy Gallagher
Implementing global “best practices” through
a collaboration with the International Council
of Nurses (ICN) — a federation of more
than 130 nursing associations — was an
“enormous” and “intense” mission for Susan
Smith and Donna Rich.
The two Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
students undertook the challenge as part of their capstone project
before graduating in May. In the process, they paved the way for
future collaboration and developed best practices that will improve
health care internationally.
Best practice guidelines are just one of the major projects of the
ICN, the world’s first and widest-reaching organization for the health
professions. These guidelines are created to consolidate knowledge
and provide higher, universal standards across nations.
“It was a big job,” said Kathy Baker, associate professor and director
of graduate studies and scholarship-nursing. “Reviewing all that
information—then consolidating it and crafting new best practices—
took an enormous amount of time and attention to detail.”
For Rich and Smith, the process was both challenging and fun. They
pioneered a new frontier as the first two DNP students from TCU to
work on the ICN initiative.
“The available data was global, which presented a challenge to locate
and assimilate, but the process itself was a joy,” said Rich.
According to Smith, the best practice statements originated from
work published by the ICN or by international partners such as
the World Health Organization, United Nations and World Bank.
“Essentially, there was a ‘cross walk’ between the ICN document and
international partner documents, and vice-versa,” said Smith. “The
goal was to ensure that the aims of the ICN statements were well
supported by international partners.”
While the project’s sheer scope is impressive, what makes the
achievement even more remarkable is that both Smith and Rich have
full-time jobs. Smith is a clinical nurse specialist in critical care services
at Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, while Rich is a hospitalist
for Oceans Behavioral Health and an assistant clinical professor for
Angelo State University.
So how were two DNP students from TCU selected to take on this
important project? Rare and exciting educational opportunities don’t
just happen. Years of dedication and strategic planning fostered
by strong leaders cultivating long-term collaborations align for the
perfect student-learning service environment, which is exactly where
Smith and Rich landed.
“Dean Paulette Burns and Acting Dean Susan Weeks have been
nurturing a relationship with the ICN for several years,” Baker shared.
“Their steadfast leadership and commitment to improving nursing
worldwide has opened doors for our students.”
For the 2014-2015 school year, six TCU doctoral students are already
planning to collaborate with the ICN and several faculty have also
expressed interest.
“As the capstone project, this is a student’s opportunity todemonstrate
on a broad scale the knowledge gained from their doctoral program,
which focuses on leadership in policy and politics, complex health
care organizations, emerging sciences and translational research,”
said Baker. “I can’t think of a better way to bring it all together than
through this best practice collaboration.”
P
Susan Smith with her fifth-grade class at the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus
(first row, far right). Smith, who was raised in Singapore, expressed gratitude
for the opportunity to participate in the international community within the
professional realm.
FEATURES
8
· Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences