The Nursing Department of the Recanati School for Community Health Professions hosted Columbia School of Nursing Dean Dr. Bobbie Berkowitz, PhD, RN, CNAA, FAAN at BGU’s Faculty of Health Sciences in mid-July along with two of her associate deans to discuss potential collaborations.
There are several areas of potential cooperation being explored, Jennifer Smith, NP-C, MBA, MPH, DNP, Senior Associate Dean and Director, WHO Collaborating Center, said. Among the potential topics under discussion: Research focusing on infection control, curriculum development, faculty exchanges and maybe student exchanges. A Memorandum of Understanding between the two nursing schools will be signed in the coming months. Columbia might offer consulting on setting up a PhD program in nursing at BGU, she added. Berkowitz was also accompanied by Elaine Larson, RN, PhD, FAAN, CIC, Associate Dean for Research.
Columbia has been designated as a World Health Organization collaborating center whose mandate is to seek out collaborations all over the world. So when Dr. Ilana Livshiz-Riven, RN, Ph.D., Director of the MN program in the Department of Nursing approached Columbia’s administration about potential cooperation after lecturing to Columbia School of Nursing faculty, they were more than happy to accept her invitation to visit and lay the groundwork.
During the visit they met the senior faculty for mutual professional discussions and had a meeting with President Prof. Rivka Carmi. In addition, lectures and presentations were given by the visitors and the staff of the department and Prof. Larson gave a fascinating talk to the Soroka University Medical Center staff.
This would be the second cooperative endeavor in the medical field between BGU and Columbia University Medical Center. The Medical School for International Health, a joint BGU-Columbia medical school, brings over 45 foreign students a year to study medicine with a global health perspective.
