Primary Healthcare Nursing Module

Development of the Primary Healthcare Nursing Curriculum

To address the common training needs among its primary care partnerships, AIHA convened a Primary Care Nursing Steering Committee that was tasked with designing a curriculum for primary care nurse training and conducting a series of workshops using this curriculum.

In late 2000, nine US and NIS nurses from AIHA’s primary healthcare partnerships were selected to represent the four NIS regions on the Committee. The Committee met for the first time in Moscow December 6-7 to identify the training needs and priorities of primary healthcare nurses in the NIS. Topics identified as priorities included: physical assessment, patient education, communication skills, health promotion, and community health and education. Based on these priority areas, the Committee established a basic agenda for a series of primary healthcare skills-building workshops to be held in each of the regions for partnership nurses in 2001. Following the meeting, Committee members continued to work on developing these workshops in tandem with other partnership nurses and a standard curriculum was developed and translated for use during each region’s workshop. Regional teams were formed to develop a standardized set of materials and curriculum for each of the topics.

The first in a series of Primary Healthcare Nursing Skills-Building Workshops was held March 6-9, 2001, in Yerevan, Armenia. The workshop was designed to provide skills-based training to the nurses and also to provide an opportunity for nurses from Armenia who work with AIHA projects to get together and share experiences. Four nurses from each AIHA partnership in Armenia participated in the event. Some senior level nurses from the AIHA’s graduated partnerships and the Ministry of Health were also invited. Six US and one Armenian faculty—all AIHA partners—taught the sessions. The first two days of the workshop consisted of training on physical assessment. Each participant nurse was given a physical assessment kit by AIHA consisting of: a stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, ear scope, pen light, and tuning fork. The second two days consisted of sessions on communication skills, patient education, health promotion, and basic computer skills.

The next in the series of workshops was held in Borjomi, Georgia, May 15-18, 2001. Twelve Georgian nurses representing the Georgian Nursing Association, Kutaisi Women’s Wellness Center (WWC) and Mtskheta Primary Healthcare Center participated in the workshop. Another workshop was held the following week in Baku, Azerbaijan. Fifteen nurses from AIHA’s three Azerbaijani partnerships attended the event. The fourth was held in Moscow and 35 nurses from AIHA partnerships attended. The workshops were designed to provide practical training to partnership nurses and to serve as a forum for collaboration and information sharing between nurses from different regions of a given country, as well as different countries throughout the region. More than 100 partnership nurses participated in subsequent workshops held in July in Kyiv, Ukraine, and in August in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Nine US and NIS nurses participated in the Primary Care Nursing Steering Committee Meeting held immediately following the workshop in Kyiv in July, 2001. The purpose of the meeting was to evaluate the effectiveness of the last series of primary care workshops and develop a curriculum for a new series of workshops. The workshops were planned throughout the NIS for the following year. Curriculum topics selected included adolescent health, pediatric asthma, dental hygiene, geriatrics, and time management.

The second primary care nursing curriculum was finalized and introduced in a workshop for primary care nurses in Yerevan, Armenia, December 4-7, 2001. This workshop built upon the knowledge gained at the first Primary Care Nursing Workshop held in March 2001, and the participants were largely the same. Areas of focus included mental, adolescent, and dental health; asthma; gerontology; and time management. Each nurse was given a detailed curriculum translated into Armenian as a reference guide. AIHA continued to provide workshops for partnership nurses in 2002, with courses in Tbilisi and Baku in February and Kyiv in March.

A workshop was held March 25-27, 2002, in Cluj for 25 Romanian nurses. The faculty consisted of four US nurses who are members of AIHA’s Primary Healthcare Nursing Steering Committee and have taught similar workshops throughout the Central Europe and the NIS region. Topics covered included: physical assessment, health promotion, patient education, and communication. Each participant was provided with a kit of physical assessment tools, including a stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, and pen light for hands-on training and for use in their own practice. At the conclusion of the AIHA training, the nurses participated in a two-day training offered by SECS. This training focused on family planning services, consultation skills, and methods of contraception. The participants were given a copy of a manual on contraceptives and family planning in Romanian prepared by Johns Hopkins University.

In May 2002, the Steering Committee met for the last time to report on the workshops that had been held during the past year. Following the meeting, the American members of the Committee reviewed and updated the curricula so that they could be distributed to participant nurses. Many of the nurses who participated in the training sessions were asked to train others at their facilities using these curricula.

Continue reading about AIHA's Primary Healthcare Nursing program.