A few months ago, Katie Oleksy, a dedicated nurse from Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital and Mennonite College of Nursing alum, embarked on a journey to foster international collaboration and learning. As part of Northwestern’s first-ever exchange program, she and a colleague traveled to Ireland to collaborate and learn from a hospital in Cork.
During her visit, Oleksy spent one week immersed in the hospital’s environment. She met with administrators and nurse specialists who specialize in nearly every body organ and spent the week observing floor operations.
Irish nurses’ team-oriented approach stood out, beginning each shift with a “huddle” to coordinate care tasks such as administering medications, conducting assessments, and performing IV treatments. While nurses had assigned patients, everyone on the floor was informed about all patients to ensure comprehensive care.
Katie also stated that CNAs and nurse techs are much harder to come by in Ireland, allowing nursing students to play a more hands-on role in hospitals. Nursing students work three 12-hour shifts every week, unlike the more limited clinical rotations in the U.S.
Cultural differences in nursing practices between Ireland and the U.S. were also evident. For example, Irish nurses are required to keep their arms bare below the elbows and change out of scrubs before leaving work. During medication administration, nurses wear red aprons with “do not disturb” printed on them to minimize interruptions.
Although there were many cultural differences, there were also many similarities. Oleksy stated, “Patient care—no matter what language you speak or what culture you’re in—is still patient care.”
Now that Oleksy has returned home, Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital eagerly awaits its Irish counterparts to arrive. The collaboration between the two hospitals will allow unique shared learning experiences to be taken back and potentially implemented in their hospitals to only further improve worldwide health care.
