Objectives

In March 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake struck Japan. What should we, as nursing professionals, think and do in such a crisis? Many disasters have occurred around the world and many people have lost their lives and their health is at risk. In this program, we will consider our mission and role as professionals from a global perspective and how we can prevent disasters, respond to crises, and protect people's health.

Medical and disaster nursing has no borders. We cultivate communication skills to build international teams, the ability to think about health on a global scale, and the ability to solve problems scientifically while assessing the situation. Our goal is to support the capacity building of health professionals who can contribute to the promotion of global health and the development of medical care as members of the global community.
 

Program

• Visiting training at Malmö University (Sweden), Faculty of Health and Society
• Visiting training at the Faculty of Nursing, Universitat of Rovira Virgili (Spain)
• Health and Nursing Working Group Meeting
• INU Nurshing Workshop 2024 | Hiroshima University

Learning at the Malmo University (Sweden) Faculty of Health and Society

The 2011 academic year course sent 13 Hiroshima University students (from the School of Health Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine) to study at Malmo University in Sweden from March 26 – 29, 2012. The course was highly productive, involving lectures and visits to facilities as shown below, and was an opportunity for interaction with Malmo University instructors and students.

Day 1

• University tour
• Explanation of the learning programs at the Malmo University Faculty of Health and Society
• Visit to the university hospital, learning at the inter-professional student training hospital (KUR)
• Traditional Swedish foods, social event

Day 2

• Social systems and health care in Sweden (lecture)
• Field learning: Visit to nursing home, visit to rehabilitation facility

Day 3

• Reflective thinking in clinical practice (exercise)
• Old-age health care in Sweden (lecture)
• Sightseeing in Malmo, home party at professor’s home

Day 4

• Public health in Sweden (lecture)
• Palliative care in Sweden
• Review of learning

Many enthusiastic comments were received from the participating students. Here is an example.

“It was an opportunity for many truly valuable experiences and I was able to learn a great deal. I am very grateful for this opportunity, and I hope to make sure to use it for more than just completing my course of study. I will make use of what I have learned in my future study and nursing care work, and will be aware of my status as a representative of Hiroshima University during my studies and work to share what I have learned with other students. I hope to help create a better future for Japanese health care and welfare.”

Click here for more student reports.

The 2012 academic year course will send 15 students to Malmo University in Sweden from March 4 – 8, 2013.

Nursing care working group meetings

Faculty from nursing and health care fields at 6 INU member universities (Malmo University, James Madison University, Kyung Hee University, Universitat of Rovira i Virgili, Flinders University, Hiroshima University) are coming together to hold meetings in preparation for the “Disaster Nursing” student seminar that is scheduled for a full-scale launch in the summer of 2013. For the 2011 academic year, this working group meeting was held in Tokyo in March, 2012. For the 2013 academic year, it was held in Hiroshima in August, 2012. In addition to these two meetings, frequent online video conferences are also being held as preparation for the student seminar progress steadily.

Health and Nursing Working Group Meeting

Faculty members specializing in health and nursing fields from six INU member universities (Malmö University, James Madison University, Kyung Hee University, Universitat  of Rovira i Virgili, Flinders University, and the University) are meeting to prepare for the "Disaster Nursing" student seminar, which is scheduled to begin in earnest in summer 2013. This working group meeting was held in fiscal year 2011. These working group meetings were held in Tokyo in March 2012 for FY2011 and in Hiroshima in August 2012 for FY2012.  In addition to these two meetings, frequent online videoconferences are also held, and preparations for the student seminar are steadily underway.

The 5th INU workshop in 2024 was held from August 2 (Fri.) to 10 (Sat.) under the theme of "Global Conflict, Healthcare Advocacy and World Peace," with 26 students and 7 faculty members from 4 universities in 4 countries that are members of INU (including 7 students and 5 faculty members from overseas).