There are moments when an opportunity comes up and the world shifts a little and a concept, like knowledge into action, solidifies into a new understanding. This is how it was for us recently as we experienced a week of teaching workshops for nurses in Vietnam. Translating not only the language but also the content and context of such familiar material as our Evidence-Based Practice workshop and the JBI Systematic Review Training into a program that would be valuable to Vietnamese nurses was both difficult and rewarding.
In March we delivered a two-day evidence-based workshop and the three-day Systematic Review Training (modules 1&3) to senior hospital nurses and university nursing faculty staff at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City. This work was part of a project funded by the Queensland University of Technology and Atlantic Philanthropies, whose ongoing commitment in Vietnam encompasses public health initiatives such as lobbying for motorcycle helmet laws, as well as funding educational opportunities for Vietnamese nurses.
We conducted the Evidence-Based Practice workshop in English with translated Vietnamese PowerPoint slides. Fortunately for us, many of the participants had very good English skills, which was most helpful considering our complete inability to speak Vietnamese. Workshop content included an introduction to the concept and process of EBP, complemented by interactive exercises and activities. Updating skills in searching to find evidence on a prevalent clinical problem was of particular interest.
The involvement and the deep interest of our participants was truly impressive, especially considering the difficulties of language and the steep learning curve. All of the participants were keen to offer ideas and perspectives from their clinical settings and they certainly had a wealth of experience to share. Overall, the feedback from our participants was very positive. And from our point of view, it was very rewarding to see the concepts really "click" for each participant.
Following the two-day EBP workshop, ten nurse teachers and university staff went on to participate in modules 1 & 3 of the JBI Systematic Review Training. Again, we presented the modules in English with slides translated into Vietnamese. With more complex content came more complex difficulties, but both participants and presenters worked a way through them.
At the end of the three days, participants presented eleven diverse and interesting systematic review (SR) topics. Some of the topics included:
* The effectiveness of nursing education strategies for promoting self-care for diabetic patients with chronic wounds
* Effectiveness of interventions to reduce stress of clinical nurses in Vietnam
* The effectiveness of parent education programs for the home care of children with diarrhea
Following feedback from SR trainers, participants will propose three SR protocols they will undertake with support from us here at QCEBNM. Overall, we feel the two workshops on EBP and SR training were successful in highlighting areas of need for Vietnam and key areas where further support is needed to assist with the implementation of evidence into clinical practice. The QCEBNM will continue to work with QUT and nursing staff from Ho Chi Minh City in promoting and developing EBP initiatives.
The concept of "knowledge to action" can often seem to be a one-way process, but in practice it can be more circular, with the knowledge gained from action used to plan further actions and in turn to gain more knowledge. This was definitely the case for us in Vietnam, and we look forward to more opportunities for both knowledge and action.