Patrice K. Nicholas, DMSc, DHL (Hon), MPH, MS, RN, ANP, FAAN
Director, Global Health and Academic Partnerships

BWH nurse practitioner Michelle Young (far right)  speaks with nurse colleagues in India.

BWH nurse practitioner Michelle Young (far right) speaks with nurse colleagues in India.

Through the Center for Nursing Excellence (CNE), BWH’s Department of Nursing sponsors the International Nurse Visitor Program. Last summer, in partnership with Partners HealthCare International (PHI), the International Nurse Visitor Program hosted nurses from India who visited BWH. This most recent effort is part of a longstanding partnership with PHI to advance quality of care across the Wockhardt Hospital system through bilateral interprofessional exchange programs.

In November, Stefan Strojwas, BSN, CCRN , clinical  nurse educator for the Surgical  Burn/Trauma Nursing Service on Tower 8CD; Diane Miller, MS, RN,CNS, clinical nurse educator for the Emergency Department; and Michelle Young, MS, RN, ANP, nurse practitioner in the Cardiovascular Division; traveled to Mumbai, India, to offer their expertise at the newly opened Wockhardt Hospital. The hospital is part of a private health care system making strides in meeting the growing demand for high-quality cost-effective health care in India with a major focus on quality and safety.

“The nurses and physicians know what best practices are; it is just a matter of having the opportunity to build best practice in their home setting,” said Strojwas.

Young worked closely with the staff on cardiovascular care, sharing her expertise in advancing Wockhardt Hospital’s goals for its Heart Failure Program and outpatient management of patients.

Miller noted: “The staff nurses at Wockhardt had a great sense of clinical inquiry and were very focused on learning, as well as teaching about emergency nursing. They are invested in improving practice.”