This commentary provides an update on the October 25, 2017 International Home Care Nurses Organization (IHCNO) webinar. The presenters shared the background on the IHCNO since its founding in 2009 (Narayan, Harris, et al., 2017) and presented on the development of the International Guidelines for Home Health Nursing (Narayan, Farris, et al., 2017). As background, Mary Narayan and I shared the American Nurses Association's (2015)Home Health Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice at the 2015 IHCNO meeting in Chicago. At that conference, international nurses suggested that similar guidelines would be beneficial in their countries. Several nurses volunteered their time and expertise for 18 months to draft the guidelines, which, along with the recording of the webinar are available on the IHCNO website (http://www.IHCNO.org).
Over 200 nurses from 30 countries registered to participate. The following are some of the suggestions offered during the webinar:
1. Include a guideline to address the physical safety of home care nurses.
2. Provide a definition of home healthcare nurse.
3. Provide information on how to become certified for this specialty. (Note: A public health nurse from Ireland shared that registration by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland is available.)
4. Universities should consider offering online home care certificate courses to international nurses.
5. Translate the guidelines into other languages. (Note: A nurse from Turkey indicated interest in translating the guidelines into her language.)
6. Develop guidelines for specific diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
The IHCNO leadership group will address the suggestions to include in a future update of the guidelines. These suggestions raise additional questions. You are invited to share your knowledge and experiences related to the following questions.
1. How do you provide safety for home healthcare nurses and other workers?
2. How do you define a home healthcare nurse?
3. Does your country have a formal education program for home healthcare nurse?
4. Would you be interested in an online university program that offers a certificate in home healthcare nursing?
5. Do you have the resources in your country to translate the guidelines?
6. In your opinion, can guidelines be adopted and implemented in your country?
7. What disease categories require guidelines?
8. Do you have the opportunity to influence national policy?
9. Do your country's current regulations restrict or enhance your practice?
10. Is documentation completed in writing or electronically?
11. Are nurses equal professional participants in the care of home care patients?
12. Is there a registration process for nurses?
13. Are there existing professional or government guidelines for nursing, specifically home care?
14. How often and by whom is your professional practice evaluated?
15. Are you required to attend in-service or other educational programs?
Your responses to questions and suggestions will be shared in a future commentary. Thank you to each nurse who participated in the webinar. Please share your research, opportunities, dreams, and aspirations for international home care nursing with me (mailto:[email protected]), Mary Narayan (mailto:[email protected]), or through the website http://www.IHCNO.org.
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