The Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences of the University of South Bohemia, Dr. Ivana Chloubová, along with the Vice-Dean for Science and Research, Prof. Valérie Tóthová, and the Vice-Dean for International Relations, Dr. František Dolák, undertook a week-long trip to the United States of America in late February and March. The main goal was to deepen cooperation with The Ohio State University (OSU), a public research university in Columbus, Ohio. This trip followed previous visits by academic staff from the College of Nursing at our faculty (Susan O'Hara, PhD, MPH, RN – June 2022, Dianne Morrison-Beedy, PhD, RN, CGNC, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN – September 2023 Fulbright Scholarship), as well as Prof. Tóthová's visit to the College of Nursing in October 2022. The visit succeeded in establishing further contacts in the field of scientific research, expanding existing cooperation, and obtaining numerous specific impulses that will be beneficial for our faculty, particularly in the establishment of new centres for research activities at the FHSS USB: the Evidence-Based Nursing Centre (EBN), the Virtual Learning Centre, and the Research Centre for the History of Nursing and Health Care.
The College of Nursing at The Ohio State University is a unique institution, especially regarding its centre for EBN and the Centre for Healthcare Innovation. The research staff willingly shared their experiences with the functioning of these centres with members of the FHSS USB leadership, which was very beneficial and inspiring. In evidence-based nursing, healthcare professionals verify the correctness of their procedures based on experiences presented in various scientific publications, leading to the improvement of nursing care. The Dean summarized: "We want our students not to limit their knowledge only to the period of education at the university but to be able to transfer it into clinical practice." In America, EBN is also used in hospitals and community care, while in our country, it remains at the level of university education.
A highlight for the members of our faculty leadership was the visit to the Center for Healthcare Innovation, where they saw the practical implementation of ideas from clinical practice. The opportunity to use the experiences of people working in the field, who come to the centre with ideas for various improvements to aids or the production of small items, is very useful for the FHSS USB as well. It already plans to produce some aids for teaching specialized subjects in the simulation centre using a 3D printer. Small items can also be produced at the faculty, utilizing the experience and advice of teachers who are familiar with the situations from their practice.
During their stay in Ohio, representatives of the FHSS USB also visited the simulation centre for the education of future nurses, medics, and doctors. The Dean, Dr. Chloubová evaluated the experience of this excursion: "I must say that I am proud because our simulation centre surpasses it in some respects. Although we do not have such extensive spaces and places for simulating work in community care, our technology, equipment, and especially our method of teaching may be even better. I appreciate how our teachers have embraced simulation teaching and have created a number of scenarios to guide students in their work."
The rich programme in the USA also included a comparison of nursing study programmes in Europe and the USA, clarification of cooperation at a global conference held in Prague in September in which colleagues from Ohio will also take part, and further negotiations on cooperation in organizing an international nursing symposium hosted by our faculty next autumn.
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