A Faculty Development Program was designed around the findings from an extensive faculty needs assessment survey. It aimed to enable nursing and midwifery educators to develop their own action plans to strengthen the future of their own nursing and midwifery schools.
To achieve this, nursing and midwifery educators were provided with the opportunity to draw on the internationally recognised expertise of the UTS Faculty of Health during an intensive workshop in Sydney and engage in an ongoing mentoring and support structure from staff in their home country.
The priority areas identified by a previous needs assessment survey that was integrated into the Faculty Development Program were:
- Interprofessional collaborative learning (between both students and schools)
- Teaching and learning approach
- E-learning and new technologies
- Skills on framework development for teaching methods and strategies to engage a larger student body
- Leadership, management skills, performance reviews and human resource management
- Competency-based education programs
- Proposal/report writing
- Administration and curriculum planning incorporating National Health Plans
The WHO CC UTS program addressed these areas, focussing on contemporary nursing and midwifery education strategies. Each topic was delivered by experienced professionals to equip participants with new, engaging ways of transferring knowledge to their students and educator teams. Participants were exposed to a range of innovative teaching and learning approaches, including student engagement, role play activities and the use of simulation.
Each participant devised an action plan. Throughout the program, participants focused on real, rather than hypothetical challenges, and encourage real, achievable results. Working in small groups to identify the key challenges facing their Faculties, and nursing and midwifery education in their countries, they planned ways to meet these challenges, applying leadership skills learned during the program. Outcomes of the Faculty Development Program included:
- A reference group of mentors and experts to maintain constant communication and support to participants.
- Participants' development of nursing and midwifery faculty development action plans relevant for their country.
- Increased capacity of nursing and midwifery educators to improve skill development and support continuing professional development.
- Strengthened leadership skills in nursing and midwifery educators.