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From April 15-17, McMaster University will host 30 nurses and health professionals from across Latin and Central America for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Universal Access to Health and Universal Health Coverage: Advanced Practice Nursing Summit.

The summit aims to share perspectives about the role of the advanced practice nurse (APN) in Canada and the United States, in the context of promoting primary health care (PHC) in the Americas to support universal access to health and health coverage.

 

 

Since 1992, McMaster University School of Nursing has been a PAHO/World Health Organization Collaborating Centre in Primary Care Nursing and Health Human Resources. The Centre works collaboratively with faculty across disciplines at McMaster and in coordination with the Global Network of Collaborating Centres for Nursing and Midwifery. Dr. Andrea Baumann, Associate VP, Global Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, has been Centre Director since its inception.

 

 

Summit attendees will come from across the PAHO region, including Argentina, Bahamas, Brazil, Barbados, Cuba, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Uruguay and USA. The event will also welcome global actors from the WHO in Geneva and from PAHO’s head office in Washington, along with local representatives including President of the International Council of Nurses (ICN), Judith Shamian. McMaster University researchers from the office of the Chair in Primary Health Care Nursing, the Canadian Centre for Advanced Practice Nursing Research (CCAPNR) at McMaster with faculty from the School of Nursing leading the discussions.

 

Advanced practice nurses who provide primary care services will deliver presentations and tours at primary health care sites in Hamilton, including the Aboriginal Health Centre, Hamilton Family Health Team, Refuge Hamilton Centre for Newcomer Health, McMaster Family Health Team, the City of Hamilton Public Health Services, and the Hamilton Urban Core Community Health Centre.

 

 

Although advanced practice nursing is well-recognized in Canada and the US, there is little evidence of APN education, practice and regulation in Central and South American countries. PAHO is promoting discussion about broadening the scope of nursing practice in PHC in the Americas. The objective is to engage experts in developing strategies to assess how best to integrate APNs in Latin American countries.