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Rea Judit Jerabekne Vegh (center right) demonstrating hemodialysis techniques to nurses at the Charak Memorial Hospital (CMH) in Nepal.

Rea Judit Jerabekne Vegh, a registered nurse from Diaverum and Guys and St Thomas NHS Hospital in the UK, spent two weeks as an ISN Educational Ambassador at the Charak Memorial Hospital (CMH), in Pokhara, Nepal, in November 2019. The visit was organized by Dr. Klara Paudel from the host institution.

The EAP visit aimed to increase the quality of care in the dialysis center and to provide advanced training to nurses at CMH, empowering them to become leading trainers in the region who can make decisions and suggestions concerning their patients as well as mentor junior staff.

The training centered on hemodialysis and focused on advanced techniques, improvements, and infection control. New techniques, procedures, and infection control measures were implemented immediately improving overall trouble-shooting and critical thinking capacity and positively affecting patient safety.

An interactive theory and practice training course was organized as part of the EAP visit to include nurses from other centers within the region. A patient education program for dialysis patients, “Positive Thinking on Dialysis,” also took place addressing diet, tiredness, and positive thinking. This event appeared in the local newspaper because of the favorable impact it had on the patients.

According to Rea Vegh, the nurses were eager to learn and responded positively to the encouragement to follow new procedures and to become confident enough to make decisions and try new approaches in case of problems. She comments that a highlight of her experience at CMH was: “To see the staff accepting and understanding the new practice as they took the initiative, and from one day to another, started to use some new techniques proving that their critical thinking has improved.”

Rea Vegh plans to establish a WhatsApp group with the nurses to share problems, solutions, and lessons learned. She hopes to visit again when the new unit is in operation saying: “It would be beneficial to spend a whole week on infection control, to help the senior management team with writing standard operating procedures, and start an auditing program.”