On May 12, 2022, "West China-Pittsburgh Nursing Development Online Forum" was held in 5G Remote Conference Center. Prof. Jackie Dunbar-Jacob, Dean of School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, Mr. Jeff Bernstein, UPMC International Senior Vice President and President in China, Prof. LI Ka, Dean of West China School of Nursing, Sichuan University, and a number of nursing and cross-disciplinary experts from both schools attended the Forum. The Forum was co-hosted by Ms. Lucinda Morgan, Director for International Affairs, School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, Prof. ZHANG Fengying, Vice Dean of West China School of Nursing, and Dr. QIU Chen, Program Manager of International Affairs, West China School of Nursing, Sichuan University. Associate Prof. HU Minxia, and Ms. LIU Bei, from School of Foreign Languages, Sichuan University, worked as simultaneous interpreters.
First, Prof. LI Ka, Dean of West China School of Nursing, Sichuan University made a welcome speech. On the special day of May 12, our two schools warmhearted celebrated the international nurses' day with an academic forum. Dean LI Ka sent holiday blessings to nursing colleagues all over the world. Subsequently, Dean LI Ka affirmed the cooperation foundation and friendship established between the two schools, and pointed out that benchmarking "the precision nursing of health and disease in the lifelong cycle" in the "double first-class" discipline construction of our nursing school, She hoped we could jointly explore the theories, technology and research frontier of precision nursing, and carry out in-depth cooperation in discipline construction, international exchange, talent training, scientific research, and gather high-end talents and jointly promote nursing development!
Prof. Jackie Dunbar-Jacob, Dean of School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, confirmed with Dean LI Ka's speech. Dean Jackie Dunbar-Jacob also introduced the characteristics and achievements in the School of Nursing at University of Pittsburgh. She showed high expectation of further cooperation in talent training, scientific research and disciplines development between the two schools.
Mr. Jeff Bernstein, UPMC International Senior Vice President and President in China, delivered a welcome speech on the Forum. He hoped that UPMC can act a greater role in promoting West China-Pittsburgh medical and nursing cooperation！
Prof. Yvette Conley presented her topic titled "Precision Health: Progress Towards Improving Person-Centered Care for Cancer Related Cognitive Impairment". She elaborated on the predictive role of genomics and biomarkers in Cognitive function changes in patients with breast Cancer, which provided a new angle of view for nursing workers to improve the quality of clinical nursing.
Prof. HU Xiaolin made a presentation titled "Effect of a multidisciplinary supportive program for family caregivers of patients with heart failure on caregiver burden, quality of life, and depression: A randomized controlled study". She revealed the positive effect of multidisciplinary supportive program for caregivers of patients with heart failure on alleviating depression and relieving burden！
Associate Prof. Sheila Alexander presented her topic titled "Potential Biomarkers of Recovery in Acute Brain Injury and Disorders of Consciousness". She described the potential biomarkers for the recovery of disorder consciousness in patients with acute brain injury, and pointed out that it is necessary to establish a larger database containing subjects from different cultural backgrounds in order to achieve precise care for patients with brain injury, and to improve the prognosis of patients！
Dr. WANG Guan made a presentation titled “Research on precision nursing based on molecular biology and bioinformatics". He took SMYAT as an example to study the cardioprotective pathway in animal models of heart failure, shared his research in molecular biology and bioinformatics. He also introduced his research of constructing precise nursing-oriented database, which can provide data support for nursing researchers to carry out related clinical research in the world.
Associate Prof. Susan Wesmiller presented her topic titled "Self-reported Symptoms and Their Association with Polymorphisms Recognized as Common Data Elements in Women with Breast Cancer". She described the association between self-reported symptoms (such as nausea and vomiting) of patients with breast cancer and polymorphisms of related gene locus, which provides a new perspective for precision nursing research.
The forum was broadcasted live on Chinese and English channels worldwide. More than 10,000 audiences joined in this forum online, including teachers, students, researchers, and medical staff studying or working at Universities and Hospitals from both United State and China. The audiences actively participated in the discussion on the live broadcast platform, and left comments to appreciate the experts for their wonderful presentations, and the two schools for providing this learning and communication opportunity. West China School of Nursing, Sichuan University will continuously invite experts from all over the world to carry out in-depth thinking and communication, and contribute to the construction and development of human health and nursing science.
