During National Nurses Month, Cindy L. Munro opened the “Rooted, Ready, Rising: Celebrating 75 Years of Excellence” colloquium by remarking on the rich, enduring partnership between University of Miami’s School of Nursing and Health Studies (SONHS), where she serves as dean and professor, and Jamaica’s University of the West Indies School of Nursing (UWISON).
The colloquium took place May 18, 2023 in the S.H.A.R.E.™ Auditorium at SONHS and virtually via Zoom with over 50 registered attendees from Florida, Jamaica, Mexico, Alabama, and elsewhere.
The half-day event was inspired by the University of the West Indies Alumni Association of Florida (UWIAA-FL). “Both entities have been collaborating on research projects and other health endeavors over the years without fanfare,” group leaders stated. “It is high time to reveal this mutually beneficial partnership.”
Dean Munro’s welcome was followed by remarks from Dawn Munroe, head of UWISON. Dr. Johis Ortega, associate dean for Hemispheric and Global Initiatives at SONHS, served as colloquium moderator, introducing each of the three panels.
During the first panel, Dr. Ortega and Dr. Kenya Snowden, associate professor of clinical at SONHS, described a Simulation Symposium that took place at UWISON’s Mona Campus in May 2019. There SONHS faculty worked with nursing faculty to build simulation capacity for the school’s undergraduate nursing curriculum. Dr. Snowden discussed positive results from the international collaboration, including a report coauthored by SONHS and UWISON faculty published by the Clinical Simulation in Nursing journal in 2021.
A novel mentor-supported nurse leadership course connecting SONHS and UWISON faculty was the subject of the second panel. Representing the Ministry of Health and Wellness for Jamaica, Claudett James said the ministry and the Pan American Health Organization have already selected a new cohort of participants based on success of the program’s first graduates in 2021. Faculty talked about the team-teaching aspects of the course, while two participants from Jamaica—a registered nurse and a nurse midwife—explained how the course helped empower them to be leaders in their practice fields. “Our team of participants are doing well out there as a result of the training offered to them through this program,” affirmed James. She congratulated both schools on their shared 75th anniversary and said, “Just continue to serve with excellence.”
Speakers in the third and final panel praised the productive research partnership forged between UWISON and SONHS. In particular, they highlighted united work taking place through the National Institutes of Health-funded Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Training (MHRT) program, designed to improve representation of health disparities scientists from diverse backgrounds. Karina Gattamorta, a SONHS associate research professor and the school’s MHRT program director, noted that the University of the West Indies has been placing MHRT trainees in key research projects with outstanding mentors every summer since 2018. Panelists Dr. Denise C. Vidot, a SONHS associate professor who has been the U.S. mentor for students placed in Jamaica since 2019, and Bria-Necole Diggs, B.S.P.H. ’21, a MHRT alumna, both echoed Dr. Gattamorta’s enthusiasm for this longstanding, robust union. Diggs, who continues to serve as a “junior mentor” for participants, said her MHRT experience in Jamaica set her up for success in the Master of Science in Public Health program at UM’s Miller School of Medicine.
In closing, Dr. Ortega called the three-and-a-half-hour colloquium “magnificent.”
Dean Munro agreed. “What we’ve presented here today jointly shows the tremendous promise that we have in this collaborative relationship between the University of the West Indies School of Nursing and the School of Nursing and Health Studies at the University of Miami,” she said. “I remain completely committed to this collaboration. I think it is one of the shining stars of what we do together. Here is to another great 75 years! We should probably not wait that long to do the next symposium.”
“Please let’s not wait,” continued UWISON’s Dawn Munroe. “Today I’ve left here with two hashtags: #ittakesavillagetoraiseraesearcher and #collaborationfortransformation. … Our experience is only going to get better…. We have seen where skills sharing, culture sharing, experience sharing really has helped to augment and accelerate the development of nursing and midwifery in the region of the Americas. This is such an exemplar of the power of partnerships. …We look forward to more of this soon.”
Next at the podium was Diana Turnbull, president of UWIAA-FL. “The energy and enthusiasm is palpable,” she said. “It is a great honor to have such prominent speakers showcase their wonderful talents, partnership and contributions in the areas of education, research, and simulation. It certainly was an enlightening morning.”
She added that she looks forward to events like this that would lead to the “betterment and upliftment of the Caribbean and South Florida communities.”
During the colloquium, both Turnbull and Dean Munro thanked Dr. Beverly Fray, B.S.N. ’03, M.S.N. ’06, of Miami, an alumna of both SONHS and UWISON, for helping to facilitate the event.
Watch the colloquium: https://vimeo.com/828447577/ee0ba6dcf0.
