USA and North Pacific Island Nurses and Human Resource Managers Develop Leadership Skills
Geneva, Switzerland, Honolulu, Hawai’i, USA, 17 July 2014 – Seventeen senior nurse leaders and human resources for health executives from nine US-affiliated Pacific island countries and territories (PICTs) were selected to attend the first ever ICN Leadership for Change Programme™ (ICN LFC) conducted in the USA. This ICN LFC Programme is a collaborative partnership with the International Council of Nurses (ICN), the University of Hawai’i at Manoa School of Nursing (UHMSN), the Pacific Island Health Officers Association (PIHOA) and the American Pacific Nursing Leaders Council (APNLC). The first workshop took place from 23-27 June 2014 in Honolulu, Hawai’i on the campus of the University of Hawai’i at Manoa.
Composed of 15 women and 2 men, these dynamic participants included chief nursing officers, human resource executives, and finance officials of various health ministries from the following US-affiliated PICTs: American Samoa; the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas; the Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Pohnpei Yap and Kosrae); Guam; Palau; and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (Majuro and Ebeye). Financial support was provided by PIHOA’s CDC National Public Health Improvement Initiative and CDC Association of State and Territorial Health Officials Leadership Development funds, UHMSN, and the Ministries/Departments of Health from the US PICTs. The funds supported all of the costs and supplied the required resources for the threepart programme, which includes workshops, monitoring and evaluation activities and participation in the ICN LFC Training of Trainers Programme. The second workshop of the programme will take place 11-15 August 2014, while the Monitoring and Evaluation Meeting, Graduation Ceremony and TOT Workshop will be held 26-30 January 2015.
“ICN is thrilled to work in collaboration with the UHMSN Global Health Program, PIHOA, and the US PICT Ministries and Departments of Health to implement our world renowned ICN Leadership for Change Programme for nursing and human resources health executives,” said Dr. David C. Benton, ICN Chief Executive Officer. “This partnership is one of many that we embark upon as a team of collaborators sharing knowledge, resources and the responsibility to ensure we have strategic leaders and partners leading sustainable change that ensures quality health care and safety for the populations being served.”
Established by ICN in 1996 and funded in partnership with provider organisations worldwide such as the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Fund, the ICN LFC Programme has been implemented in more than 60 countries and over 40 of these countries have participated in the ICN LFC Training of Trainers programme. The ICN LFC Programme is a copyrighted and trademark action-learning leadership development programme designed to build the capacity of senior and executive level nurses and other health professions from low, middle and high-income countries. It provides participants opportunities to develop understanding of global health challenges, obtain insight into international leadership styles, and be exposed to and analyse change management in the context of health system redesign and transformation and health and social policy.
The ICN LFC Programme is directed by Dr Stephanie Ferguson, who is also the Facilitator leading the ICN Burdett Global Nursing Leadership Institute (GNLI). She is a consultant for WHO and faculty at Stanford University based in Washington, DC. Dr Kristine Qureshi, PhD, RN, FAAN, who is serving as the National Coordinator of the ICN LFC Programme, is leading this endeavour in collaboration with Dr. Mary Boland, Dean and Professor of the UHMSN, which has been designated as the Provider Organization. A stellar faculty team from the UHMSN will work with all the participants to ensure on-going sustainability and outcomes.
“Safe, high quality care is a right for every individual in the Pacific,” noted Dr Qureshi. “Leadership for quality improvement change is an essential precursor for supporting an effective quality assurance program within the context of available resources – that at times are limited”.
Dean Mary Boland said, “The University of Hawai’i at Manoa School of Nursing has a long history of serving as a leader for education, research and service in the Asia/Pacific region and this program adds to the portfolio of other significant endeavours the School is engaged in within the region.”
The partnership between the UHMSN and ICN was made possible by funding and other support from PIHOA under the leadership of the PIHOA Board of Directors, its Executive Director, Ms Emi Chutaro,, Dr Mark Durand, PIHOA’s Quality Improvement/Quality Assurance/Performance Improvement Coordinator, and Dr. Greg Dever, PIHOA’s Regional Human Resources for Health Coordinator. These individuals have a passion and mandate to scale up the health workforce in the region, and to develop innovative health systems’ models of excellence in quality improvement.
Ms. Chutaro noted, “The PIHOA Board of Directors fully supported the ICN LFC Programme when it was presented to them in their March 2014 Board meeting. We are all, therefore, looking forward to the changes in quality improvement that the program participants will spearhead and lead in each of the jurisdictions. PIHOA thanks the UHMSN for reaching out to ICN and for hosting the training to ensure it is available to the islands. Where possible, and upon request from the islands, we hope to be able to disseminate this program to the local US PICTs colleges to ensure appropriateness to local needs, and to ensure a level of sustainability for local health workforce development and leadership strengthening.”
ICN has been a pioneer in leadership, management and negotiation skill development for nurses for more than 20 years through its highly successful leadership programmes: Leadership for Change™, Leadership in Negotiation, and the Global Nursing Leadership Institute.
Further information about the ICN LFC Programme is available at: www.icn.ch/pillarsprograms/leadership-for-change/
Editor’s note
The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is a federation of more than 130 national nurses associations representing the millions of nurses worldwide. Operated by nurses and leading nursing internationally, ICN works to ensure quality care for all and sound health policies globally.
The University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Nursing & Dental Hygiene (NAWSON) is the premier nursing and dental hygiene school in the State of Hawaii. Located on the Manoa campus, the only doctoral/research university-intensive institution in Hawaii, we are dedicated to improving health through education, research, and service. The School provides instructional, clinical and research activities to enhance the health and care of diverse populations in the State of Hawaii and the Asia-Pacific region.
The Pacific Island Health Officers Association (PIHOA) is a non-profit organization that is governed by and represents the collective interests of the Ministers, Secretaries, and Directors of Health of the US-affiliated Pacific Island Countries and Territories of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia. PIHOA’s mission is to improve the health and well-being of the Pacific communities it serves by providing, through consensus, a unified credible voice on health issues of regional significance.
For further information contact Lindsey Williamson at: media@icn.ch
Tel: +41 22 908 0100; Fax: +41 22 908 0101
www.icn.ch