One of these new global health exchanges is “Patient Safety Across Borders During the Covid-19 Pandemic,” a virtual course open to nursing students from SONHS and the Dominican Republic’s largest university, Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD). The bilingual course launched January 29 via Zoom with a warm welcome from Dr. Johis Ortega, associate dean for Hemispheric and Global Initiatives. Dr. Ortega thanked the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic for its support and said, “This program marks the beginning of an official relationship between SONHS and UASD.”
Speaking on behalf of the U.S. Embassy and State Department, diplomat Carolina Escalera said, “Our objective in financing virtual programs like this between U.S. and Dominican universities is to promote exchange during the pandemic. We understand that opportunities for dialogue are essential to meet the challenges of this time… I am excited to see the opportunities for collaboration in health and education that will arise from this program.”
SONHS Dean Cindy L. Munro also expressed enthusiasm for the semester-long course and its first students. “You are shining examples of our potential to improve health conditions across both of our nations,” Dean Munro told the inaugural cohort of 40 nursing students from UASD and SONHS. “Your participation in this innovative endeavor represents a commitment to recovery—to the recovery of individual patients, as well as the recovery of our health systems and communities.”
Dr. Jorge Asjana David, UASD’s director of National and International Relations and Collaborations, urged participants to take full advantage of the transcultural opportunity with their peers. “I have no doubt this will offer a model for virtual exchanges in the area of nursing,” he said. “This collaboration will be the first of many because success is guaranteed.”
Taught by Dr. Juan M. González, associate professor of clinical at SONHS, the hybrid course features a series of patient safety modules to be completed asynchronously, a group project, and five real-time virtual meetings. Dr. González said the experience will give participants the chance to learn from each other, collaborate, and grow.
The first scheduled guest speaker of the course will be SONHS alumnus Dr. David Zambrana, a nurse scientist and clinician leading hospital operations for Miami’s Jackson Health System, the largest public health system in the United States. The subsequent webinars will be delivered by Drs. Ortega and González, both of whom are practicing emergency department clinicians in Miami, and faculty from UASD.
