Heritage Snapshot Part 240: Respect for Nurses Promoted

LOMA LINDA >> Dr. Gordon Hadley, the first operational president of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital in Hangzhou, China, worked to improve respect for nurses in China. According to Yang Lili, Loma Linda consultants tried to set a high standard for nursing from the beginning. Chinese nurses had a weak foundation and only a few years of working experience. The need for greater education and qualifications was challenging. Earlier, nurses in China started working with nursing school diplomas. Senior nurses then would tutor younger nurses at the bedside. On the other hand, nurses at Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital now have earned Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degrees, Master’s degrees, and even PhDs. Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital’s Department of Nursing Education is another first in China. Even at the beginning, new hires attended lectures and training programs, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Nursing education was established on an annual schedule with student-centered education. It promoted professionalism, standardization, autonomy and confidence. The nurses there have implemented an advanced practice nursing (APN) system. They now have at least a dozen advanced practice nurses in various specialties, which is something that is unique in China. Most SRRSH nurses are now bachelors-degree prepared. Nurses they hire today must have earned a bachelor’s degree. Lili, RN, joined the nursing staff of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital in 1993, a year before the hospital opened. That is when with what observers called “a natural talent,” she started learning English from Loma Linda’s Betty Rosenquist, RN. Before 1993, she did not know English. Lili is now Director of the Nursing Education Department and director of the Magnet office (to prepare for the highest and most prestigious distinction a health care organization can receive for nursing excellence and high-quality patient care.) She is one of the hospital’s nurses who took advantage of Loma Linda influences to further her education and earn advanced degrees. She earned a Master’s degree in nursing from one of Loma Linda University’s off-campus programs at Adventist University of the Philippines from 2005 to 2008. Then, she started working on a PhD degree in nursing from Loma Linda University School of Nursing in 2010, a degree which was awarded to her during the School of Nursing graduation ceremonies in 2016, on her sixth visit to Loma Linda. Earlier, on Feb. 25, 2016, Lili participated in a teleconference with the Global Health Institute at Loma Linda University from a laptop computer in her office at SRRSH. When it was 4:30 p.m. in Loma Linda, it was 8:30 a.m. the next day, in China. She used the same technology in contacting Betty W. Winslow, PhD, Professor of Nursing, at least weekly, sometimes much more often. During this contact, she acknowledged that nurses returning to China from Loma Linda are obviously more professional in their practice of nursing. Nurses at Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital have learned much from the Nursing Service at Loma Linda University Medical Center. They have learned the value of nursing orientation and continuing nursing education. Students who come to SRRSH from surrounding Chinese schools of nursing are trained and educated to think critically and to really improve their nursing skills. This is seen as a real blessing to nursing in China. Because SRRSH has a unique educational program with unit educators responsible for student nurses learning, SRRSH is a preferred teaching site for student nurses, many of whom eventually want to work at Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital. So, the hospital is able to recruit top nurses that it has trained while they were still in nursing school.