ICN launches global online learning platform for all nurses on key nursing and health priorities
The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is pleased to announce the launch of a new global online learning platform to broaden nurses’ knowledge about issues that are vital to the profession and to global health. These free learning modules provide high quality Continuing Professional Development opportunities available to all nurses, which will be particularly useful for nurses in lower resources settings with limited access to learning. All the modules will be available in English, Spanish and French.
Each module on the new platform, funded by the World Health Organization (WHO), has been developed by ICN, presenting expert knowledge from the scientific programme of the 2021 ICN Congress in an easily accessible format that can be accessed by nurses anywhere in the world.
The first two modules are key resources on subjects that are priority issues for nurses and healthcare globally, Patient Safety and the WHO’s Global Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery (2021-2025) (GDSNM). ICN has been a member of WHO’s expert group on patient safety for a number of years and was intimately involved in the production of the GDSNM.
Nurses who complete a module and successfully pass its assessment will be awarded a certificate detailing the ICN Education Credits they have earned, which can be included in nurses’ individual professional portfolios.
ICN President Dr Pamela Cipriano said: “This is an exciting development for ICN that will make a real difference to nurses everywhere, but especially to those who have poor access to Continuing Professional Development opportunities.
‘Since its inception more than 120 years ago, ICN has always been concerned with nursing education and ensuring that knowledge and expertise is shared as widely as possible. This 21st century development continues that desire to give nurses the best possible access to the information they need to create the best healing environment for their patients, wherever they are.
‘Thanks to the generous support of WHO and the experts who have provided the content, including ICN staff, we are very pleased that the modules are available at no cost to all nurses who want to access them.
‘The first two modules are on subjects that are vital to the wellbeing and continuing contributions of nurses everywhere, and I recommend them to every member of the global nursing workforce.”
Patient Safety module
Patient Safety is a strategic priority for ICN that is at the centre of our mission as the global voice of nursing to represent and advance the profession, promote the wellbeing of nurses, and advocate for health in all policies.
We have harnessed the knowledge of global nursing experts, the power of the ICN Congress scientific programme, and our involvement at WHO to create a module that recognises the importance of patient safety and its intimate connection to the safety of individual nurses and the nursing profession.
Global Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery module
The WHO Global Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery (2021-2025) include guidance on evidence-based practices and policy priorities that can help countries ensure that nurses and midwives contribute optimally to achieving Universal Health Coverage and other population health goals.
This module will help nurses, nursing students, health workforce planners, policy makers, educators and researchers to contribute to advancing, implementing and monitoring these strategic actions for the enhancement of global health.
The learning platform and the modules will be showcased in a number of sessions at ICN Congress in Montreal, Canada, which runs from 1-5 July 2023, including the following:
- 3 July, 14:00 - 15:30, Lecture Room C, Main Session 04: Improving the quality and safety of healthcare delivery: World Health Organization
- 5 July, 12:00-13:30, Plenary Room, Main session 07: How are we doing in implementing the Global Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery? Global and Regional data and perspectives (WHO)
They will also be promoted at the ICN Council of National Nursing Associations Representatives, which precedes the Congress, and at the ICN Student Assembly and in various workshops and symposiums.
To register for the on-demand learning modules please follow this link.