Through a joint program between the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and the Peking Union Medical College (PUMC) School of Nursing, five doctoral students are the first Chinese nurses to receive a nursing PhD from a Chinese university.
“This is an historic moment in the health care of China,” says Marie T. Nolan, PhD, MPH, RN, associate professor and director of the JHUSON-PUMC Doctoral Program Partnership.
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| From Left: Graduates Dr. Tao Liang and Dr. Yang Li; Advisors Dr. Chong-mei Lu, Dr. Shou Qing Lin, Zhu-Ming Jiang; and Graduates Dr. Zhong He, Dr. Feng Li Gao, and Dr. Xiaokun Liang |
The first graduates-Gao Feng Li, He Zhong, Liang Tao, Liang Xiaokun and Li Yang-received their degrees in Beijing on July 9, 2008. All will eventually become faculty in the PhD Program at PUMC.
A hallmark of the joint program, funded by the China Medical Board of New York, Inc., is the requirement for each student to spend a sem-ester at Johns Hopkins. While in Baltimore, the students participate in doctoral seminars with Hopkins nursing students, observe U.S. health care delivery systems, learn about the best of evidence-based nursing practices, and work toward finalizing their dissertations.
Two additional cohorts comprised of nurses from throughout China are now completing the program. The second completed their studies at Johns Hopkins East Baltimore Campus in fall 2007, and the third and final cohort is on campus for the fall 2008 semester.
–Diana Schulin