UHM Nursing On-Board the Pacific Partnership 2014 Mission in Indonesia
Gary Glauberman, MS, RN, APHN-BC, a Community & Public Health Nursing Instructor at UH Manoa Nursing represented the school during the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Partnership 2014 mission. The Pacific Partnership is a U.S. Navy-led humanitarian exercise that takes place in countries of the Asia-Pacific region. The annual exercise brings host nation governments, U.S. military, partner nation militaries and non-governmental organization volunteers together to promote disaster preparedness through training and educational exchanges and other capacity building projects. The goal of the mission is to build relationships during calm times to be better able to respond collectively during crises such as natural disasters.
During the school year, Glauberman coordinates the community/public health nursing course for the Master’s Entry to Practice in Nursing program. On the Pacific Partnership mission, Glauberman’s role is to coordinate educational exchanges between Pacific Partnership personnel and host nation participants focusing on nursing care and public health. This was Glauberman’s third Pacific Partnership mission. This year Glauberman spent two weeks in Kupang City and Rote Island in Indonesia, working alongside volunteer nurses from Project Hope, members of the U.S. and New Zealand military, and Indonesian healthcare workers. He facilitated two multi-day conferences for Indonesian nurses, which included lectures, skills training, and side-by-side patient observation in local hospitals. Training topics focused on the nursing knowledge and skills Indonesian nurses identified as high need for their areas of practice, such as emergency nursing care, pediatric conditions, nursing professional development, and community health education.
Every day with Pacific Partnership is different. Discussion and learning is tailored to the needs of the community. Educational exchanges span the entire spectrum from reviewing CPR, BLS and first aid, to discussing nurses’ concerns about the rising incidence of child drowning. After in-depth discussion about nursing care for near-drowning patients and a brainstorming session about how to prevent drowning incidents from occurring, an idea of community education and prevention resonated with the group. The emergency department nurse even announced she would organize a group of nurses that weekend to meet with the fishing community to teach them about keeping their children safe near the water.
“It was really exciting to see their initiative and passion. For me, this is what the Pacific Partnership is all about: empowering health care professionals with new ideas and training so that they can provide excellent care for their communities,” said Glauberman. “Representing the UHM Nursing program on the Pacific Partnership mission has been an amazing experience, and it exciting to know that our nursing school is serving to improve global health this way. What I learn on Pacific Partnership missions is incorporated into our community/public health curriculum in the undergraduate and graduate programs. This represents effective service learning.”
For more information about Pacific Partnership 2014 visit http://www.cpf.navy.mil/pacific-partnership/2014/. If you are interested in participating in Pacific Partnership 2015, contact Dr. Kristine Qureshi at kqureshi@hawaii.edu or (808) 956-2638.