World Health Organization renews prestigious designation for UIC Nursing
The UIC College of Nursing was re-designated as the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for International Nursing Development in Primary Health Care, a recognition of the college’s expertise and contributions toward the WHO’s mission. The designation will be in place for four years, until 2027.
In 1986, UIC Nursing became the first U.S. institution to be designated a WHO Collaborating Centre in Nursing/Midwifery and has successfully maintained it over the last 37 years. Dean Eileen Collins and clinical associate professor Susan Walsh, will serve as co-directors.
“We are proud to continue supporting the World Health Organization’s efforts to cultivate nursing education throughout the world,” Collins said. “In this role, we leverage our college’s considerable faculty expertise to build the capacity of nurses globally, and we work to promote nurses’ roles as leaders who will meet today’s health care challenges.”
The re-designation puts the UIC College of Nursing in rare company; it is one of only nine nursing colleges or schools in the U.S. to be part of the Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centers for Nursing and Midwifery, a community of 44 nursing and midwifery institutions spanning six regions of the world.
For this designation period, the college is charged with promoting and facilitating the role of advanced practice nurses and doctorally prepared nurses, with an emphasis on nursing leadership to address sustainable development goals, universal access to health and universal health coverage. The college is also responsible for supporting PAHO/WHO’s effort to advance nursing education with the development of clinical faculty and school nurse competencies.
During the previous four-year designation period, which ended in April, some of UIC Nursing’s projects included co-producing a 166-page compendium and short video called “Perspectives and Contributions of Nursing to the Promotion of Universal Health” and launching a project with UIC Medicine, the Guyana Ministry of Public Health and the University of Guyana to promote interprofessional education and collaborative practice in Guyana.
The college also developed and executed two webinar series with partner institutions.
These included: “Nurses’ a Voice to Lead: Nursing Leadership in the COVID-19 Era and Beyond,” in collaboration with University of West Indies St. Augustine and McMaster University; and a series on management and prevention of non-communicable diseases in the Caribbean, a collaboration with University of West Indies St Augustine School of Nursing, University of West Indies Mona School of Nursing, and Duke University School of Nursing.
