Ministry of Health Co-Sponsors Albanian Nursing Conference

The second Albanian Nursing Conference, co-sponsored by AIHA and the Ministry of Health of Albania, was held May 9-12 in Tirana, Albania. Over 100 nurses from various fields of nursing and representing clinics and hospitals in Tirana and other small cities in Albania, participated in the event designed to enhance their diagnostic skills.

Dr. Petro Mersini, chief of cabinet, and Luljeta Pallaveshi, head of the nursing department, represented the Albanian Ministry of Health. Also present at the conference were Gabriela Bocec, executive director of the Romanian Nursing Association; Dr. Astrit Koka, former director, and Dr. Pirro Prifti, current director, of the Tirana Nursing School; Howard Sumka, USAID mission director to Tirana; Dr. Mustafa Xhani, director of the University Hospital Center "Mother Teresa" in Tirana; Judy Van Dam, US coordinator of the Tirana/Grand Rapids partnership; and representatives from other international organizations working in the field of nursing.

US nurses from the Kirkhoff School of Nursing at Grand Valley State University gather with Tirana nursing instructors.

Organized by six US nurses from the Kirkhoff School of Nursing at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the conference offered lectures and small group activities that highlighted nursing care, blood borne infections, physical assessments of adults and children, common pediatric conditions, and AIDS in Albania. The event created a forum for nurses to share ideas, discuss their profession, and help strengthen the Albanian Nursing Association, which was established in June 1998 at the end of the first nursing conference. Presenters also shared a synopsis of the history of nursing with participants and discussed the importance of establishing additional nurse associations that provide professional network links to other nurses as well as to employers.