by Dr. Dianne Morrison-Beedy
Have you seen or heard the term “glocal” lately?
This combination of two words – “global” and “local” – reflects the interconnection between home or community issues, factors and ideas with those that appear worldwide. We are certainly recognizing that whether we are talking about education, healthcare, social issues and services or other aspects of life, that: (1) what happens globally affects local communities; and (2) local life in communities reflects the diverse experiences, cultures and people from across the globe.
The Ohio State University College of Nursing is committed to promoting health equity to transform healthcare and improve people’s lives in our local communities and around the world. We believe it is imperative that our students and faculty are equipped with the knowledge and experience to be global citizens, whether at home or abroad. To this end, the Office of Global Innovations has continued to expand international engagement and develop partnerships so that we can both bring the world to our students, faculty and staff, and to bring our students, faculty and staff to the world.
Our recent expansion of student education abroad opportunities to Costa Rica highlights this engagement work. Like the program in Norway that we offer to Graduate Entry students, our traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students will be able to complete their community health clinical hours through a brief, intensive global experience. It is vitally important for our college to develop learning opportunities that go beyond exposure or service experiences and allow students to meet curricular requirements and stay on track to their timely graduation. Post-COVID, we are moving rapidly to expand other partnerships in the hopes that each level of student and curricular program offered at the college will feature at least one global learning opportunity. We are in the planning stages for DNP opportunities in Taiwan, nurse midwifery observational experiences in a renowned birthing center in Scotland and master’s and undergraduate leadership experiences in Ireland.
The College of Nursing also wanted to encourage shared global learning experiences across all campuses and majors by offering a first-ever general education, thematic Health and Wellness course that is open to all students. This course takes place in the island nation of Cyprus concurrently with a sustainability thematic course in Geography. Our first group of students participated in May of 2022; about half of the students who attended had never traveled out of the Midwest region of the U.S. prior to this experience. We are creating global citizens through these brief international engagements that hopefully inspire students to continue to expand their horizons and global impact.
Recognizing that not all students can pack up a suitcase to travel, we are continuing to build our faculty expertise through “virtual global education experiences” that connect students from around the world with Buckeyes in a broad array of classroom learning experiences. For instance, faculty are currently expanding our “network” of global colleagues to include shared learning opportunities for PhD students and neonatal nurse practitioner students in the Czech Republic. Each year, we provide small awards and mentoring for faculty who want to build upon an idea for COIL (collaborative online international learning) or other virtual experiences with like-minded colleagues across the globe. Our college continues growing the number of skilled, enthusiastic, committed educators and staff who share their expertise and passion for global learning with our students.
Another highly prestigious opportunity for globalization has been through the Fulbright program, where competitively selected U.S. students, scholars, teachers, scientists and artists receive scholarships or grants to study, conduct research, teach or exercise their talents abroad. This past year, two of our college’s faculty – Joni Tornwall, PhD, RN, ANEF, and I – served as Fulbright Specialists providing our curricular and research expertise to growing programs in Finland and the Czech Republic, respectively. These experiences, limited to usually a few weeks, offer opportunities for our faculty to share skills in education and research while developing future potential partnerships for our students and faculty.
Whether we have packed a suitcase and traveled abroad or connected in our big, beautiful virtual world, our College of Nursing students, faculty and staff are recognized as global leaders by answering our calling to care. Our global engagement continues to transform healthcare, research and education through strategic and pioneering partnerships as we expand our “glocal” Buckeye footprint.
Dianne Morrison-Beedy, PhD, RN, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN serves as Centennial professor of nursing, chief global strategy officer and director of the Office of Global Innovations at The Ohio State University College of Nursing. She is a four-time Fulbright Award recipient. In 2023, she received the President’s Award from the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research (FNINR) and the Frank Lamendola Achievement Award for Nursing Leadership in HIV Care from the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care.
