In this issue:

  Major development project in Pakistan taps HMI expertise in health care and education

  Government of Portugal turns to Harvard as country pursues advances in medical education and research

  Asan nurses complete clinical observation programs as plans for new cancer center move forward

  Acibadem and HMI mark International Nursing Day with conference

  Klaus Peter International Teaching Award goes to MGH dermatologist

  HMS-based programs enrich education of select foreign medical students

Major development project in Pakistan taps HMI expertise in health care and education
HMI has entered into a long-term relationship with the Defence Housing Authority Islamabad (DHAI), an organization that is planning to develop a 60-acre health and education complex as part of a large-scale residential development in Pakistan. Current plans for Health and Education City Islamabad include a 500-bed teaching hospital and colleges of medicine, nursing, and dentistry.

In April, the leadership team from Pakistan came to Boston to begin formulating a project strategy and to visit model facilities in the Harvard Medical School affiliate community.

HMI will advise DHAI on the establishment of a tertiary care teaching hospital and associated schools for health care professionals to address the health and medical education needs of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, and beyond. Although in recent years Pakistan has made considerable improvements to its health care infrastructure, the country's supply of high-quality facilities and highly-trained health care professionals is unevenly distributed, and inadequate to serve a nation experiencing such rapid population growth. Large numbers of Pakistan-trained physicians continue to leave to practice in other countries.

Check back with HMI World in the coming months to learn more about what promises to be an exciting project calling upon multiple components of HMI’s expertise and experience.

Government of Portugal turns to Harvard as country pursues advances in medical education and research
The government of Portugal has engaged HMI and Harvard Medical School (HMS) to help chart a future course for the national advance of science and education. The collaboration, led by the Portuguese Ministry of Science & Technology, is part of a major initiative undertaken by the government to strengthen the country’s knowledge base at an international level through a strategic investment in people, knowledge, and ideas.

The government of Portugal is seeking to create programs and infrastructure to spur the development of biomedical research and postgraduate medical education, and to foster public understanding of science and its role in the country’s progress. A team of Harvard faculty led by HMI’s Tom Aretz, MD has begun a four-month assessment aimed at identifying potential areas of collaboration between HMI, HMS, and the academic medical institutions of Portugal.

“The leadership of Portugal have articulated a bold vision for the development of national capabilities across a broad range of key infrastructures, including health care delivery, education, and research,” said Aretz, who is Vice President of Global Programs at HMI. “There is tremendous potential to achieve sustainable improvements to biomedical science and education, as well as spark mutually beneficial transatlantic collaborations. The Portuguese government is also keen to ensure that the general public is aware of the importance of biomedical science and the many benefits it brings to our lives.”

Asan nurses complete clinical observation programs as plans for new cancer center move forward
In May, three nurses from Asan Medical Center (AMC) in Seoul, South Korea visited Boston for a three-week clinical observation program. An integral part of the long-term collaboration between HMI and AMC has been regular professional development programs for AMC’s faculty and nurses at a variety of Harvard Medical School institutions to examine updated practices of management, research, education, and patient care.

The goal of this program was to focus on particular nursing roles for which there are not structured pathways in South Korea, such as oncology nursing, while emphasizing clinical competency growth, said Elizabeth Brown, RN, MSN, MBA, Director of Clinical Services at HMI.

Two oncology nurses, Jeeyoon Kim and Jeonghui Ok, and one gastrointestinal (GI) nurse, Lim Eun Young, participated in clinical observations, instructional sessions, and discussions with nurse managers and educators at Harvard-affiliated hospitals. Kim and Ok’s itineraries included time at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), while Young visited the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and the Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) Somerville Hospital.

Kim and Ok will be nurse coordinators at the planned Asan Cancer Center, scheduled to begin construction in 2008. Earlier this year, two expert oncologists from DFCI—Lawrence Shulman, MD, Vice President, and Robyn Souza, RN, MPH, Chief Nursing Manager—were part of an HMI team that visited AMC to provide recommendations for the development of the new cancer center. A main focus of their recommendations was the need to prepare nurses to function effectively as managers and educators in their newly developed roles at the center. The clinical observation program for AMC nurses is part of this strategy to create infrastructure that promotes professional development for staff.

Each nurse’s program concentrated on a range of topics, such as managing unit performance, leading change, communicating skillfully, team building, and patient and family education. Kim and Ok participated in a safety and quality retreat at DFCI and observed clinical rounds at the inpatient, ambulatory, and radiology units for oncology at MGH. Young, who has worked as a staff nurse at the AMC GI unit for four years, met with clinical nurse educators and specialists at the CHA Somerville Hospital and BIDMC and observed their GI and intensive care units.

The clinical observership program was coordinated by the Institute for Nursing Healthcare Leadership.  

Nurses from throughout the Acibadem network attended the conference.

Acibadem and HMI mark International Nursing Day with conference
Acibadem Healthcare Group welcomed faculty from HMI for a conference to commemorate International Nursing Day, which is celebrated every year on May 12th, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. More than 200 participated in the activities, which were held in Acibadem hospitals in Istanbul and Bursa.

Elizabeth J. Brown, RN, MSN, MBA, Director of Clinical Services at HMI, teamed with Acibadem nursing director Saliha Koc, RN, MS to develop a program that mixed strategies gleaned from past experiences with inquiries into how nurse leaders at Acibadem and beyond can work to address current challenges in the nursing profession.

This year’s International Nursing Day theme, as designated by the International Council of Nurses, was the need to foster a positive practice environment for nurses. Presentations by human resources professionals Gökben Sarac Özalp (Acibadem) and Joanne Ayoub (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center) offered perspectives on how their hospitals have faced up to this challenge and recognized that it is an organizational issue—not merely the domain of nurses and their managers.

“Acibadem has had great success thus far in implementing measures to support the development of its nursing staff. Conferences like these, by bringing together not only nurses from inside the network, but also representatives from nursing schools and professional associations, help to build momentum for various nursing initiatives, share information, and reinforce the progress already made for the profession,” said Brown.

Klaus Peter International Teaching Award goes to MGH dermatologist

Ernesto Gonzalez, MD, Associate Professor of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), is the 2007 winner of the Klaus Peter International Teaching Award. The award, established in honor of Prof. Dr. Klaus Peter, Dean of the Medical Faculty at Ludwig Maximilians University (Munich, Germany), is given annually to an HMS faculty member who has contributed significantly to the field of international medical education, international exchanges, and mentoring of international students, residents, and fellows.

As Director of the HMS Dermatology International Training Program, Gonzalez plays a major role in supporting academic exchanges and mentorship opportunities for international students and residents in the field of dermatology. This successful program has served as a model for other international dermatology education programs in the U.S. and has provided the framework for the Master’s Degree Program in Clinical Research at the Institute of Health Professions at MGH.

“Dr. Gonzalez exemplifies the tradition established by Dean Klaus Peter and Harvard Medical International is pleased to recognize his contribution with this award,” said Tom Aretz, MD, HMI Vice President of Global Programs.

HMS-based programs enrich education of select foreign medical students

Students from Dresden

Since its inception HMI has been working with academic institutions to create learning opportunities for foreign medical students. These programs, often the offspring of larger institutional alliances, offer students the opportunity to complete clerkships in Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospitals and to receive instruction in areas critical to their development as medical professionals.

In recent months 24 students from four institutions have participated in education programs organized by HMI:

Technical University of Dresden: Three students braved Boston’s winter to complete rotations and participate in workshops on topics such as evidence-based medicine, clinical skills development, patient care competencies, and searching medical literature.

Tokyo Medical & Dental University: Eight students spent three clerkship months in HMS-affiliated hospitals, and attended workshops on evidence-based medicine, taking the history and physical examination, the nature of the patient-doctor relationship, and issues related to cultural sensitivity with patients.

National Taiwan University College of Medicine: Three students completed two clerkships, with pediatric neurology, orthopedics, and diagnostic radiology among the disciplines covered.

Ludwig Maximilians University: Ten students who are in their final year of undergraduate study are currently completing clerkships and working together on a curriculum design project focused on mentoring and portfolio assessment.

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