Why collaboration is crucial
This week I have had the pleasure of welcoming two nurses from Hong Kong to Christie NHS Foundation Trust. They are on a four-week placement to observe clinical practice, including nurse-led clinics, in the UK.
Organising their timetable with my colleagues from the events team gave me an opportunity to showcase best practice and innovative ways of working.
It enabled me to invite colleagues to share their day-to-day work with nurses from another country, and provide them with ideas and examples of practice that they can share in turn with their own colleagues.
Although my visitors have senior roles in their organisation, their clinical practice lags behind that in the UK in relation to nurse-led clinics, and they are not expected to prescribe independently. This made me realise how far nursing has advanced in the UK over the past 15 years.
Our visitors’ excitement about advanced practice is contagious, and their questions challenge my knowledge and experiences. Despite all the hard work, their visit has been more than worthwhile.
The first time a visitor from Hong Kong came to observe my nurse-led clinics for a week was seven years ago. I shared my knowledge and the protocols I had developed with her, and I offered her some tips for setting up nurse-led clinics in Hong Kong.
This week I discovered that, on her return to Hong Kong, she had set up her own nurse-led Herceptin clinics based on my suggestions and protocols, and has since been educating other nurses. It makes me proud to think that I have influenced the practice of nursing colleagues in a country I have never visited.
Collaborating and sharing practice developments with colleagues overseas can help them to improve care.