Four representatives from Uganda School of Nursing, Bwindi and Bwindi Community Hospital have made the journey to Reno, Nevada to participate in a 19 day educational visit, as part of a partnership between Orvis School of Nursing, Uganda Nursing School, Bwindi and Bwindi Community Hospital. The partnership aims to improve care in both Nevada and Uganda through the sharing of experiences across cultures. 

The visit was made possible by a grant from the Rotary Club of Reno and The Rotary Foundation, and is part of an ongoing collaboration with the Bwindi Community hospital and Uganda Nursing School Bwindi. This funding was used to equip the new skills lab building with a new library, two new classrooms, a new computer lab, the purchase of simulation and skills equipment for the new skills lab, two scholarships for degree nurses and for the visiting tutors to receive training aimed at improving instructional methods and use of equipment.

“This visit was supposed to take place in 2020 but the Covid pandemic made that impossible. While it has taken more than three years to see the training come to fruition, the experience has been amazing. Our Ugandan colleagues have not only been able to work directly with our students and faculty, they have also been welcomed by our partner organizations”, Orvis School of Nursing Associate Professor, Deborah Lowell Shindell said.

During the visit, the team from Uganda participated in simulation, skills labs, and lecture observations at Orvis School of Nursing. The team also observed nursing education at two local hospitals and at other schools of nursing in the region.

“This immersion program has been very educational and we have learnt so many different things, and that is not only academic or how we do instruction, but also the culture,” Principal of the Uganda School of Nursing, Bwindi, Robert Kamugisha said. “We hope that we have a long-lasting partnership with Orvis School of Nursing, so that nurses and instructors here can come to Bwindi, Uganda and see another perspective of patient care and education.”

“Right from the day we reached here everyone around was so receptive. People in the University of Nevada, Reno Orvis School of Nursing have been so welcoming and have offered us the best they can and I really want to thank them,” Tutor and Deputy Registrar at the School of Nursing, Bwindi Andrew Ansinguza said.

This is the first time Orvis School of Nursing has welcomed the team from Uganda Nursing School, Bwindi and Bwindi Community Hospital to campus. In 2018 and 2020 Associate Professor Deborah Lowell Shindell visited Uganda and has provided training alongside fellow Orvis School of Nursing colleagues to their Ugandan partners over the last five years.

Deborah Lowell Shindell will visit Uganda again next year, with the hope that faculty and students can visit and complete clinical rotations in Uganda in the future.