Advancing Global Health Through Regional Development

Worldwide, it’s an exciting time to come together to focus on specific solutions to better align education and practice, implement evidence-based strategies, and strengthen research. That’s why the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing (JHSON) took advantage of this opportunity to co-sponsor the 2nd Sigma Asian Region Conference: Bridging the Gap in Nursing Practice and Education Through Research, Innovation, and Collaboration. It’s an important outlet for nurses across the field to share their work in global health advancement.

The 2^nd Sigma Asia Region Conference is taking place in Dumaguete City, Philippines on August 20-21, 2018. At the conference, JHSON Assistant Professor Nada Lukkahatai, PhD, MSN, RN will lead a roundtable discussion with all Asia region chapter leaders and representatives on strategies to foster regional development. Additionally, JHSON PhD candidate Erwin Leyva will moderate a symposium entitled, “Current and Future directions of Clinical Nursing and Public Health Research.”

The Johns Hopkins School of Nursing is dedicated to expanding nursing knowledge through global mentorship & regional development. To this end, we’ve sponsored 27 students from South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Philippines, Japan, and Singapore to attend and present abstracts. “This is an opportunity for us to encourage students in Sigma’s Asia region to share their research and network with experienced nurse leaders, educators and scientists,” says Lukkahtai.

Sigma: Global Nursing Excellence (formerly Sigma Theta Tau International, the honor society of nursing) has over 500 chapters globally; JHSON’s chapter, Nu Beta, recently became the first At-Large Chapter to add an entire health system (the Johns Hopkins Health System) to its charter. Some of the benefits of being an at-large chapter include improved collaboration between JHSON and Johns Hopkins Hospital’s nurse leaders and increased retention of clinical nurses. Sigma’s Asia region is particularly culturally diverse and represents seven chapters with more than 1,000 active members.