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From left: Nizar Mamdani, Theresa Franco, Marcel DeVetten, M.D., and Kim Schmit-Pokorny get ready to leave for India on Wednesday. The team will conduct a nursing conference there Friday and Saturday. |
The conference, which is a collaboration with P. J. Hinduja National Hospital and Nursing College, is organized and led by Nizar Mamdani, executive director of the International Healthcare Services (IHS).
Theresa Franco, service line executive director, cancer care, The Nebraska Medical Center; Kim Schmit-Pokorny, nurse manager/case manager; and Marcel DeVetten, M.D., assistant professor, UNMC’s department of internal medicine-oncology/hematology, will co-chair the conference.
Hinduja — the latest of the more than 100 strategic partners of UNMC’s International Healthcare Services — is an ultra-modern, tertiary care hospital representing the highest international standards in the delivery of health care and the most advanced knowledge and skills for health care professionals in India.
“As we advance toward meeting challenges in the international health care arena, the real need now is to create competent nursing leaders,” Mamdani said. “This conference will provide a platform for the nursing leaders to interact and gain insights about the challenges faced by their peers in India. I’m thrilled to take such a dynamic team to India to represent UNMC and The Nebraska Medical Center.”
The conference is expected to attract hundreds of nursing leaders from all parts of India and will be inaugurated by the governor of the State of Maharastra, India.
“I will be giving six presentations,” Schmit-Pokorny said. “We’ll be discussing stress management, critical thinking skills, work-flow processes and other aspects of nursing leadership. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to meet nurses from multiple hospital systems in India, compare nursing roles and begin a relationship that will continue far into the future.”
The UNMC team also will visit five other major health care facilities in Mumbai, New Delhi and Lucknow, to establish the possibilities for launching a joint venture cancer care and stem cell transplant program in India. The team also will tour the Taj Mahal and Jaipur to experience some of India’s world famous historic sites.