UNC School of Nursing collaborates with local Galapagos hospital to address professional development needs

Photo retrieved from galapagos.unc.edu

This summer, UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Nursing sent faculty and students to continue previous research on the professional development needs of nurses in the Galapagos, thanks to funding from the UNC Center for Galapagos Studies’ Seed Grant program.

The School of Nursing began a collaboration with the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), Oskar Jandl Hospital on San Cristobal Island, Galapagos, and Ecuador’s Ministry of Public Health in 2016 to assess and address this issue. In their initial needs assessment, the partnership identified the need to provide nurses with continuing education through the hospital.

“Healthcare is continuously changing and evolving,” said the study’s principal investigator Dr. Megan Williams, a clinical associate professor at the School of Nursing. “We know that nurses need additional education, lifelong continuing education. Your learning does not stop when you graduate from your degree program.”