A shortage of nurses exists worldwide, not just in North America.

This summer, a group of 12 Chinese nurses and health educators arrived at Georgian’s Barrie Campus to compare notes about innovations in the Canadian health system and, in particular, about the College’s health care education. At the same time, they have gained insight into the education of nurses in their health system.

Members of the group were impressed with what they saw and learned and are now returning to their home city of Taizhou, with many fresh ideas and the possibility of future faculty exchanges between Georgian and their institutions.

The group included 10 nurses and managers from Taizhou People’s Hospital, a major regional hospital in a booming region near Shanghai. Also taking part in the seven-week visit were Vice Dean and Assistant Dean of the Taizhou Polytechnic College, which plays a role in the education of nurses.

The College’s School of Health and Wellness and Child Studies and the International Centre hosted the educational experience. A major portion of the learning activities included detailed working seminars in Georgian’s Nursing Sim Lab – a high-tech laboratory that uses lifelike robotic “patients” in a simulated hospital setting.

Randi McDermott, a part-time faculty member in the School of Health and Wellness and Child Studies, was the lead teacher for this simulated learning experience. She created a series of real-life patient scenarios that challenged the visiting nursing group members to solve problems on the spot.

The group also toured a variety of hospitals, including Royal Victoria, Soldiers’ Memorial, the Hospital for Sick Children, Penetang Mental Health Centre, Southlake Regional Health Centre, North York General and Sunnybrook. Toward the end of their Canadian visit, they briefly visited hospitals in Ottawa and Quebec.

Xing Yong Lin, a nursing manager, found the Sim Lab experience extremely useful, and liked how realistic the situations were for students. The clinical placement model used by Georgian educators also impressed her.

“This on-the-job training seems to work really well, to the mutual benefit of the students and the institutions,” she said. “It would save time and money on training.”

Hospitals here are well designed and organized, she said, and nurses are able to specialize in various functions. Back in China, the system asks nurses to be generalists rather than specialists, but she can see advantages to having some nurses play a more focused role in the wards.

Managers at Taizhou People’s Hospital face a massive challenge. The modern institution, located in a city with a population of five million and growing, is already extremely busy.

Managers and staff are currently working towards opening a new international clinic with 1,500 beds. It will need to be staffed with its own share of nurses.

The task of training new nurses, ready to deliver excellent health care, is the responsibility of Taizhou Polytechnic College. Vice Dean Lifang Li also picked up many intriguing ideas and concepts during his visit to Canada. He hopes future academic exchanges might be arranged between Georgian faculty and teachers in his own institution to permit a fuller sharing of innovative ideas between both nations.

PHOTO: A group of nurses and nursing educators from Taizhou, China, spent seven weeks at Georgian’s Barrie Campus this summer learning more about health care education and how Ontario hospitals work. Among the participants were, from left, Lifang Li, Dean, Taizhou Polytechnic College; Haixing Li, Associate Dean, Taizhou Polytechnic College; and Xing Yong Lin of the Taizhou People’s Hospital.