麻豆视频

It's a colourful closing ceremony at the Sri Lanka Foundation in Colombo. Spirits are high, discussions are engaging, the future of nursing seems bright. Members of the nursing team have prepared a traditional dance and song, and every single person in the room is smiling.

For the past few days, 120 public health nursing officers (PHNOs) have gathered in a training room, focused on workshops delivered in a second language. They鈥檝e shared experiences, gained confidence and leave not just with knowledge and practical skills, but galvanised to advocate for improvements to their health care system, too.

It's made me fall in love with nursing all over again

For Elsa and Sally, part of the RCN team who鈥檝e joined a faculty of Sri Lankan nurses and doctors teaching these 鈥渨arm, willing and welcoming鈥� PHNOs, it's been just as revelatory: 鈥淭eaching in Sri Lanka has made me fall in love with nursing all over again,鈥� says Sally Wilson, RCN Professional Lead for Care of Older People and Dementia.

What started as a pilot teaching 50 nurses has led to an initial two-year programme, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO). During that time, Sally and Elsa will return to Sri Lanka to support the national teams in developing educational programmes on older persons' and non-communicable diseases for hundreds of PHNOs.

Why Sri Lanka? Why older people鈥檚 care?

Talk of the project first started in 2024, when 麻豆视频 member 鈥� temporarily living in Sri Lanka 鈥� was approached by the WHO to explore training gaps in Sri Lanka鈥檚 PHNO programme. Due to a rising life expectancy and better living conditions, the PHNO role now faced challenges meeting the demands of the country's rapidly ageing population.

鈥淭he member tried to help by addressing some of the practical issues, but when she realised the extent of those gaps, she contacted the RCN for support,鈥� says Elsa Afonso, Head of the RCN's International Nursing Academy.

When Elsa and the International Nursing Academy team met with the WHO, it soon recognised the RCN had the right expertise to support the PHNO faculty with this important programme.

And Elsa knew just the nurse to team up with.

Working in collaboration

Sally and Elsa set to work on developing dementia, holistic assessment and palliative care workshops. Topics the PHNOs were introduced to in their post graduate education but were missing some of the depth and nursing perspective needed to meet the challenges of their role. The resulting workshops teach clinical knowledge and practical skills, and also address wider issues around communication, documentation and referrals.

Alongside an international faculty made up of representatives from the Post-Basic College of Nursing, the WHO, Sri Lanka鈥檚 Ministry of Health and the Sri Lanka Nursing Association, Sally and Elsa headed out to Colombo in November 2024 to kick start the pilot programme.

A programme this size doesn鈥檛 come without its challenges

Since 2024, Sally and Elsa have returned to Sri Lanka twice, the cohorts growing in number each time, and their remit expanding to co-designing the PHNO curriculum with the Post-Basic College of Nursing to enable PHNOs to truly thrive in their roles.

But a programme this size doesn鈥檛 come without its challenges.

Making meaningful progress

Adult learning can be tricky at the best of times, but processing new information in a second language creates another hurdle. Sally planned those first workshops meticulously, being mindful of maximising information without overloading or overwhelming the PHNOs.

Despite those obstacles, the PHNOs overcame them with drive and determination. Sally says: 鈥淭here was a real desire for knowledge and development among the PHNOs, and how they engaged and responded to the training was truly humbling."

Central to this, there鈥檚 the important task of remaining culturally competent while encouraging positive change.

Sri Lanka meets the International Academy鈥檚 criteria as a post-conflict recovery country with a strong nursing presence, but with a health system that needs to adapt to a major shift from infectious diseases to non-communicable diseases. Elsa says one of the biggest challenges is finding ways to adjust the standards of nursing education and the nursing profile without adjusting the system, too.

鈥淲hen we鈥檙e discussing with the Sri Lankan teams where change can happen, we鈥檙e aware it takes time to adapt to a new disease burden and population make up,鈥� says Elsa.

Elsa says her and Sally鈥檚 role is to support and enable the nursing faculty so PHNOs can make a case for these systems to adjust. But Elsa acknowledges change can鈥檛 happen overnight.

鈥淲e can't simply tell Sri Lanka鈥檚 Ministry of Health to build a referral pathway for these patients, for example. That won't work. Change has to be gradual, it must be meaningful, and it needs to be led by the Sri Lankan health care teams.鈥�

Building networks that last

An integral piece of the project is building communities of practice and getting experts and other health care professions on board, so systemic gaps, such as a lack of referral pathways, are recognised more widely.

Elsa says she's seen this starting to take shape already. During the most recent visit, she noticed how involved the ministry doctors were. They stayed late to attend meetings about redesigning the PHNO curriculum and showed a real interest in understanding the problems these nurses and their patients are facing.

A constant inspiration

Seeing the programme evolve so quickly is a testament to the willingness and adaptability of everyone involved, especially the PHNOs.

Sally was particularly impressed at how quickly the PHNOs adjusted to a completely different style of teaching 鈥� Sally uses a roving mic, encourages group discussions and sharing experiences in her workshops. She says nurses within the PHNO network have briefed each other about what to expect, via their WhatsApp group, and it鈥檚 been transformative.

鈥淭he first group we had were, I think, reluctant to share their experiences, but that initial group briefed the next group, who briefed the next group and now when I ask who wants to speak, people are volunteering themselves straightaway,鈥� says Sally.

Sally and Elsa say the PHNOs have been a constant inspiration and source of learning them.

We have as much to learn as we do to teach

鈥淭hese nurses are working, usually rurally, with few resources, a myriad of paper records to keep and often alone in patients' homes, using public transport to travel around. They have workforce issues and short staffing, which means longer hours and bigger caseloads, but they鈥檙e willing to try new things, they鈥檙e incredibly innovative and want to develop themselves professionally.

鈥淚 think we have as much to learn as we do to teach from how the Sri Lankan nurses are operating,鈥� says Sally.

Until next time

Elsa and Sally 鈥� and the multidisciplinary team they work with in Sri Lanka 鈥� are delighted with the impact the programme has had so far, but there鈥檚 still more work and more learning to be done. That鈥檚 why the International Nursing Academy have committed to providing long-term support to this project, which is funded by the Ministry of Health and the WHO in Sri Lanka.

We'll be there to support until they get the outcome they need

鈥淥ur intention isn鈥檛 to tell the faculty and the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health what needs to be done and then say 鈥榦ff you go鈥�. We鈥檒l be there to support, and we鈥檒l be consistently helping to monitor and assess the whole process, until they get the outcome they need,鈥� confirms Elsa.

Elsa and Sally are already planning their work in Sri Lanka for 2026, and looking forward to many more lightbulb moments their next cohorts are sure to spark.