Global Health Nursing

Global health nursing at the College of Nursing at the University of South Florida has developed numerous international collaborative initiatives. As Director of the Global Health Center for the College of Nursing at the University of South Florida, Dr. Sandra Cadena, PhD, ARNP, CNE, has established international nursing student exchange programs and research project opportunities between the College and nursing institutions worldwide.

The faculty and student community health nursing program with the Universidad de Panama in Panama City, Panama, Central America. is going into its fifth year. This three-week clinical immersion experience for undergraduate nursing students allows students the opportunity to travel to Panama to experience community health nursing firsthand while fulfilling a six credit-requirement for community health didactic and clinical courses. The USF College of Nursing has also established an undergraduate student exchange with Universidad el Bosque in Bogota, Colombia, South America.

In October 2009, the University of South Florida College of Nursing and Universidad de Panama co-sponsored the XI Annual International Nursing Conference on Education, in Panama City, Panama. The College also developed and presented two pre-conference workshops on leadership development and simulation education in conjunction with Latina Universidad.

In addition, as an Affiliating Center with Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) Nursing Collaborating Center at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, School of Nursing, the USF College of Nursing collaborates with nurses in other countries to develop programs that ultimately improve global health.

Dr. Cadena is currently working to develop a psychiatric nursing master’s program concentration in Colombia, South America as part of her Fulbright Senior Specialist project. Once established, the program would become the first mental health nursing graduate degree program in Colombia. In a region where many residents experience some form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from years of civil war and the ongoing impact of narco-trafficking, the psychiatric nursing master’s program concentration is much needed and would help health care providers in Colombia learn to identify and treat patients with mental health problems.

Story by Ashlea Hudak
Photo – College of Nursing
Originally published in the Fall 2009 Nursing Life magazine