International, collaborative nursing

Abstract

It is a truism that nursing has become more and more international in its scope and inter-relationships. This is one of the great benefits of the globalisation of the world economy, together with electronic communication and ease of air travel. Every time I put together a new collection of articles for publication in INR, I am amazed at the range of countries represented. In this issue for example there are authors from Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, Israel, Jordan, Nigeria, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, Uganda and the USA. Not only are authors from individual countries represented, but also at least five of the articles in the current issue represent collaborations between nurses from different countries. If we were also to include the nationalities of the reviewers of all these articles, the list would be even longer. We should not underestimate the obstacles that may have been overcome in order to achieve this collaboration. Differences in language (written, possibly using different alphabets, and spoken), resource availability, time zones and, above all, subtle differences in cultural interpretations of nursing, health care and life in general. It is also a truism that engaging in international collaborative research and publication demands huge personal, voluntary commitment on the part of all participants. ‘Day jobs’ do not disappear whilst all this activity is undertaken. Caring, teaching, and personal lives cannot simply be ‘put on hold’. That so much has been, and is being, achieved internationally is a matter for celebration amongst nurses everywhere. This collaboration is the positive ‘other side of the coin’ to the conflict that I wrote about in the September issue (57.3). A briefing (RCN 2010) from the International Department of the Royal College of Nursing, England (http://rcn.org.uk) gives an update on the European Year of Volunteering 2011. The RCN gives as an example of international collaboration in nurse education the case study on a Canadian-Bangladeshi partnership published in INR (Berland et al. 2010) (currently on the front page of the ICN website: http://www.icn.ch). The RCN cites amongst the mutual benefits derived from the partnership: the material resources made available; the sharing of expertise between high and low income countries; professional development; and interaction between faculty and students. This seems to be a classic example of what the Europe for Citizens programme, which includes the European Year of Volunteering within its brief, aims to achieve ‘in bringing people closer together’. The International Council of Nurses (ICN), of course, extends its brief internationally to nurses in more than 130 countries. In promoting participation and shared values, achieving intercultural dialogue, employment, social cohesion and sustainable development (European Commission – Citizenship 2010), it appears that nursing, once again, leads the way!