Nurse Educator
Employer: Seed Global Health
Location:Africa
Closing date: 11 Dec 2015
GHSP Nurse Educator Position Description
The health of billions of people across the globe is directly influenced by the number of health care professionals in their communities. The dire shortage of 7.2 million physicians and nurses in 83 countries is perpetuated by the scarcity of educators in medical, nursing and other health science schools in many parts of the world. This crisis is particularly severe in Sub-Saharan Africa, which bears 24 percent of the world’s disease burden, but has only three percent of the world’s health care workforce.
The Global Health Service Partnership (GHSP) – a unique collaboration between Seed Global Health and the Peace Corps funded through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief – was established to strengthen health education and service delivery by working with partner countries to meet their long-term health care human resource needs. GHSP places volunteer physicians and nurses as faculty for one-year rotations in medical and nursing schools in Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Swaziland to address this persistent shortage of health care professionals.
GHSP Nurse Educators are posted overseas as Peace Corps Response Volunteers to teach and work alongside local faculty to expand capacity, strengthen the quality and breadth of education, provide improved health professional development opportunities, and importantly, improve care for patients. Seed Global Health assists in recruitment, selection and ongoing educational and clinical support for the GHSP volunteers and their in-country counterparts.
GHSP Nurse Educators are intentionally paired with a partner country counterpart to serve as classroom and clinical educators, as well as care providers. Together with their counterparts, GHSP Nurse Educators develop or refine locally tailored best practice approaches to nursing education and encourage a continuous culture of excellence, responsibility, and accountability in the delivery of health care.
Depending on the Nurse Educator’s educational preparation and clinical expertise, the role they serve will vary. Bachelors prepared volunteers with clinical instruction or precepting expertise will serve in the clinical arena and may be called upon to assist in the classroom. Masters prepared advanced practice nurses will teach in the classroom and clinical area and may participate in curriculum and program development. PhD prepared volunteers will assist in curriculum and program development, contribute to policy development and may serve in the classroom and clinical arena.
In partnership with partner country faculty, nurse leaders and members of the institutional professional development team, key volunteer tasks include:
Participating in the development or refinement of locally tailored curriculum that integrates educational best practices in the context of country and partner institution specific regulations, mission and need
Serving as classroom faculty
Serving as a clinical instructor utilizing both simulation and clinical settings
Facilitating academic-clinical partnerships to develop practice improvement projects that strengthen care at the point of service
Participating in professional development activities with partner-country faculty and clinicians
Working closely with physician mentors to foster a model of integrated education and practice among medical, nursing and midwifery students
If appropriate, working with national nursing organizations to assist in the establishment of policies that support the enhanced role of the nurse
Data from the first two classes of GHSP Nurse Educators demonstrate that these volunteers have made a significant difference in the quantity, quality and breadth of curricula offerings in both the classroom and clinical setting. Volunteers also report that they extend and refine their own teaching and clinical knowledge and skills. Studies show that educators and clinicians who teach and work abroad gain a heightened sensitivity around appropriate health resource utilization and acquire sharpened clinical acumen while practicing in settings with limited access to state-of-the-art technology. Combined with a heightened awareness of the importance of the social determinants of health GHSP Nurse Educators return to their home communities with strengthened clinical and teaching skills ready to make a difference in addressing health disparities in the US.
Benefits to Volunteering
As Peace Corps Response Volunteers, GHSP Nurse Educators receive:
Monthly living stipends,
Housing at placement sites,
Transportation to and from country of service,
Comprehensive medical care,
Vacation days,
Readjustment allowance
Professional development allowance
Seed Financial Assistance
Recognizing that many US health professionals face financial barriers to service, Seed offers the only US loan repayment program for international service. The average American nursing student graduates from school with significant debt and has home mortgages or other obligations that would make a GHSP assignment impossible or difficult to accept. Seed believes that debt should not be a barrier to public service and provides up to $30,000 in needs-based assistance for each year served. From 2013-2016, Seed has provided $2.5 million in debt assistance as a catalyst for service by nurses to work in some of the world’s most challenging and most needed settings.
Mandatory Qualifications
BSN
Minimum of 3 years of clinical experience
Active RN license in the United States
Experience as a nursing educator in the classroom and/or clinical instructor or preceptor in the clinical setting
Excellent organizational, communication and writing skills
Successful candidates will possess the personal maturity needed to succeed working under challenging clinical circumstances.
*Note: Applicants will be required to meet licensing criteria and obtain appropriate clinical licenses in the partner country
Desired Qualifications
Advanced Practice preparation: CNP, CNM, CNS, CRNA
MPH
PhD or DNP
Experience in a faculty, clinical instructor or new graduate mentoring/precepting position in a classroom and/or clinical setting
Previous experience working in a developing or resource-limited setting
How To Apply:
To learn more and apply to be a GHSP volunteer, please visit http://seedglobalhealth.org/
