Shandong University Emergency Department

UMass group touring Shandong University Campus

It has been a very busy two days.  On Monday we started the academic portion of our trip. We began the morning with a welcome meeting between the students and faculty of UMass Lowell and the leadership of Shandong University.  We viewed a wonderful presentation about the university ( albeit in Chinese) and were very warmly welcomed by the nursing and academic leaders of the university. Everyone is so friendly and excited to become better aquainted.  There have been a few other academic collaborations with Shandong University ( UPenn, Ohio State) but I believe that we may be the largest contingent that they have hosted.  Some of the other collaborations with schools of nursing have been with smaller groups and sometimes 1-3 students who are studying at doctoral level.   Our group is very unique in that we represent all levels of education at UMass Lowell.  We have recent BS grads, RN-BS grads and students, MS students and one PhD student.  Yuan is a UMass Lowell educated PhD and I am a DNP. We represent the whole spectrum of educational paths at UMass. I believe that our group has a lot to offer our host school in terms of our professional experience. We represent many areas of practice from outpatient advanced practice to inpatient acute care, ER, outpatient pediatrics, insurance management, veteran’s care and academia.  Our host country has planned an ambitious schedule of events and so far we have been amazed at their organization and ability to allow us to see specific units of their hospital.  Briefly.. the Shandong Hospital system is a large multi-building complex with over 4000 beds!  Compare that to Lahey Clinic which has 400 beds.  The sheer size and logistics of staffing and running this medical entity is a feat in itself but this hospital has garnered many awards for procedures and quality and is a one of the top rated hospitals in the country. We are honored to be able to observe their health care system. We have been allowed to visit and observe units that normally are not open to visitors. It amazes but us that we have been permitted to view these areas. And they are all impressive in many ways.   I am not going to write about specific experiences today in my blog but will ask the students to write a bit about the experiences.  I will enclose a few photos taken in the last few days with our new Chinese friends and colleagues.   I am not sure if our Chinese friends will read this blog but I want to publicly thank the Shandong School of Nursing and the Shandong Hospital for their hospitality. When all is said and done at the end of the day we all share the same heart, the same motivation  and that is to provide excellent care to our patients and improve the health of our nation.