Looking for international partners - early stages of an nurse-exchange non-profit

[babaganoush]

Hello all!

This is my first time posting on allnurses (though I have read plenty). I am in the early stages of looking into developing a non-profit program that would partner nurses internationally in order to encourage and support nurse-lead projects. In my mind, the purpose of this program would be to offer an alternative to medical mission trips, which have often received heavy criticism and evaluation for being unsustainable, inadvertently harmful, disruptive, etc. Simultaneously, the project will hopefully encourage nurse involvement in research, evidence-based projects, and nurse leadership internationally. My vision is for the partnering hospital to be from a developing nation.

The pilot project will partner an RN here in my hospital with a nurse from another country. The visiting nurse will participate in an exchange program, where they are invited to shadow for 2 weeks on a unit. Upon application to the pilot project, the visiting nurse will have some idea of a nurse-led project they would like to implement in their hospital. Their shadow experience, along with continued support and assistance from the partner-RN, will help the visiting nurse implement their project at home. This experience will be paid for by the program (myself and donations for the pilot project).

For example, perhaps the visiting nurse wants to work on standardizing a protocol for postpartum hemorrhage. They are invited to shadow the Labor and Delivery unit for 2 weeks, where they see our protocol for managing postpartum hemorrhage. The visiting nurse is able to draw on our resources, protocols, and current available evidence and professional recommendations. Then the visiting nurse is able to formulate their own project based on their hospital’s specific resources and needs. Both partnered nurses will work together to create, implement, and then measure an nurse-lead project at the visiting nurse’s hospital.

As of now, I have the project proposal, business plan, and background research completed. My next step is to propose the pilot project to my hospital’s stakeholders to get the shadow experience approved. However, before doing this, I need to reach out to international RNs and hospitals. The biggest question in my mind:

Would this actually be beneficial for nurses/hospitals/practices in developing nations? I understand that nurses may not hold as much autonomy and respect in some places as in others. Is a shadowing experience and subsequent mentoring partnership the most beneficial way to help implement nurse-led projects in other countries?

Primarily, I am looking to connect with individuals in hospitals that this may be relevant to. Does anyone have connections they can pass my information to? Is anyone here interested in working with me?

I would also like to hear the opinions of others on this project idea. Is it relevant? Will it be helpful? What flaws/problems do you anticipate? What suggestions do you have?

Thanks!