UBC School of Nursing Partnership
The University of British Columbia (UBC) School of Nursing in Vancouver, Canada hosts the longest running nursing degree program in the Commonwealth countries, having started in 1919.
The school, and its globally recognized faculty, have worked extensively with CIES to help bring higher standards of healthcare and nursing education to the Punjab region of India.Most notably, in 1998, the UBC School of Nursing advised on the creation of a four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSc.N) degree at the Guru Nanak College of Nursing (GN College), which was spearheaded by CIES. It did this in partnership with the Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar.
Between 2001 to 2005, the UBC School of Nursing also participated in the Building Capacity for Primary Health Care in Rural Punjab project with CIES. In this arrangement, the UBC School of Nursing’s Guru Nanak Advisory Committee was formed to help prepare, develop, monitor and evaluate the project. Nursing faculty and students visited the Dhahan Keralan region to carry out health care outreach initiatives.
Between 2011 – 2014, CIES helped to facilitate a collaboration between the UBC School of Nursing and Baba Farid University of Health Sciences. Baba Farid University is the statewide health sciences degree-granting institution for all of Punjab. The goal was to enhance the capacity and curriculum of nursing education in India at a state level, by utilizing UBC’s expertise in the field.
Notable service and leadership through voluntary hours were devoted by the following faculty at the UBC School of Nursing:
- Dr. Sally Thorne
- Dr. Susan Dahinten
- Alison Rice
- Janet Ericksen
- Donelda Parker
- Elsie Tam
- Dr. Sonia Acorn
- Lynne Esson
- Alison Phinney
- Dr. Tarnia Taverne
- Leanne Currie
- Dr. Colleen Varcoe
- Darya Sawycky
And others.
Dr. Sally Thorne was the Director of the UBC School of Nursing and played a critical role in the partnerships with CIES. We also acknowledge the work of Dr. Susan Dahinten in helping to build the research capacity of the faculty and students.
Other faculty members made short term trips to Guru Nanak College of Nursing. They also helped to host and coordinate GN College visits to UBC (by both students and faculty).
Not mentioned above is Nora Whyte, who was an adjunct member of the UBC School of Nursing. She led the effort in developing the Building Capacity for Primary Health Care in Rural Punjab project and securing funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). She also provided on-going monitoring of the project.
Below are comments made by the faculty members with regards to the impact that their partnership with CIES had.
“Our partnership with CIES brings a great deal of benefits to Punjab, but also to our programs in Vancouver. Our students and faculty gain a global perspective on nursing, as well as learn cultural sensitivity. It broadens our perspective so that we can effectively develop our programs to serve not just our local community, but citizens worldwide.”
– Colleen Varcoe, Director of the School of Nursing
“This collaboration has and will continue to impact communities in rural India and beyond. It is transforming the lives of the people who choose to become nurses, as well as those whose health they are able to improve through their skills and knowledge. It also benefits UBC Nursing faculty and students by providing them with greater cultural sensitivity and global awareness, and an opportunity to engage in collaborative international research.”
– Benefactor Impact Report: Canada India Education Society / UBC School Of Nursing Partnership, April, 2014