The project is an example of strategic partnership supporting the exchange of good practices. The partnership is made up of three entities from three EU Member States. The project responds to the needs of all Partners. Although the formal partnership is formed by three research and training organizations (Poland, Germany, Belgium), all Partners are very well prepared practically in the area of the needs and expectations of the representatives of the nursing profession. This is due to the fact that all partners have cooperation with large hospitals in the area of competence and lifelong learning, and most of the common activities are dedicated to nurses. The idea of the project was created in October 2017 during a partner meeting in the project Time2Grow (POWR.04.03.00-00-W300 / 16) dedicated to the development of a model of burnout prevention among others in medical care. After the presentation of the results of primary research carried out in the project, it turned out that nurses from hospitals cooperating with partners (Lower Silesian Oncology Center DCO in the case of Poland and the University Hospital in Antwerp UZA in the case of Belgium) see similar threats to the development of competence in their profession, have proven solutions, which can complement each other. Hence the idea of strategic partnership enabling the exchange of good practices. The German Partner (ASH), highly valued in Germany as a university specializing in teaching substantive issues in the field of nursing, was invited to the project. The main goal of the project is focused on the development, thanks to the exchange of international experience, of good solutions in the area of raising the skills and competences of nurses that allow to overcome barriers, limitations and threats resulting from the specificity of the profession. As part of the project, it is planned to develop three results related to the objectives of the project: 1) Map of hazards in the nursing profession in the current social and economic conditions. 2) Catalog of good European practices in overcoming barriers, limitations and threats in the nurse profession. 3) The scope of competency gap in terms of soft competences in preparing nurses to practice. Innovation in the project is primarily based on a comprehensive approach to the issue of preparation for the nurse profession through continuing education and sharing knowledge and experience. The target group of the project are people directly involved in vocational preparation and functioning in the work of nurses - we are talking about supervisors' nurses and people responsible for staff policy and staff development in hospitals. These people are aware of the dangers associated with the practice of a nurse, face their consequences on a daily basis and often remain powerless and helpless. The implementation of the project will give the opportunity to get to know the solutions used in various areas related to the nurse's work (interpersonal communication, difficult patient, empathy, transfer of suffering, burnout risk, staff shortages, low social status, lack of satisfaction, necessity of constant improvement of qualifications, support of employers, conflicts in a team, etc.). The exchange of experiences and good practices planned in the project will allow for better, more effective problem solving that nurses in various countries are facing now, will give the opportunity to avoid possible mistakes and traps and learn from the best. It is worth emphasizing that the structure of the partnership allows on the one hand to take into account the actual needs and expectations of the target group in the conducted activities, on the other hand it guarantees high quality of the results achieved. The project should be implemented in an international partnership. The topic is very important, but it has been difficult to solve for years and is therefore postponed or marginalized. This is particularly important nowadays, when more and more countries feel staff shortages in the profession of a nurse - the result of many factors, among which one should mention first of all the difficulty of the profession, responsibility, lack of proper gratification and insufficient social status. Undoubtedly, it deserves to be discussed, searched and exchanged good practices. The partners jointly decided that the exchange of experience project would be the best way to promote good solutions, exchange ideas and stimulate searching for further improvement solutions.
The project was an example of a strategic partnership supporting the exchange of good practices. The partnership was created by three entities from three EU Member States, and the project responded to the needs of all Partners. It is worth emphasizing that although the formal partnership was created by three research and training organisations from Poland, Germany and Belgium, all Partners were very well prepared in the area of needs and expectations of the nursing profession. All Partners cooperate with large hospitals in the area of improving competencies and lifelong learning, and most of the joint activities were dedicated to nurses. The idea of the project emerged in October 2017 during a partner meeting held as part of the Time2Grow Project (POWR.04.03.00-00-W300/16) dedicated to developing a model of preventing occupational burnout in various industries, including medical care. After the presentation of the results of the primary research carried out in the project, it appeared that nurses from the hospitals cooperating with the Partners (The Lower Silesian Oncology Center [DCO] in Poland and the University Hospital in Antwerp [UZA] in Belgium) notice similar risks for the development of competencies in their profession and have reliable solutions which can complement each other. Hence the idea of strategic partnership enabling the exchange of good practices. The Project was attended by the German Partner (ASH), a reputable university widely recognised in Germany as well as other countries, which specialises in teaching substantive issues in the field of nursing. The main objective of the project - thanks to the international exchange of experiences - was to develop good solutions in the area of improving skills and competencies of nurses, allowing them to overcome barriers, restrictions and risks arising from the specificity of their profession. As part of the project, we developed three results related to the project objectives: 1) A map of hazards in the nursing profession in current socio-economic conditions. 2) A catalogue of good European practices in overcoming barriers, restrictions and risks in the nursing profession. 3) The scope of the competency gap in soft skills in preparing nurses for the profession. The innovative character of the project lies mainly in a comprehensive approach to the issue of preparing candidates for the nursing profession through lifelong education and sharing knowledge and experiences. The target group of the project were people directly involved in the professional preparation and functioning of nurses at work - mainly head nurses and people responsible for personnel policy and staff development in hospitals. These people are aware of the risks connected with this profession as they face various obstacles on a daily basis and often remain powerless and helpless. The implementation of the project provided the opportunity to learn about the solutions used in various areas related to the work of a nurse (interpersonal communication, difficult patients, empathy, facing the suffering of patients, a risk of burnout, staff shortages, low social status, a lack of satisfaction, the need to improve one’s qualifications on a regular basis, support from employers, conflicts in a team, etc.). The exchange of experiences and good practices made it possible to solve problems faced by nurses from many countries in a better and more effective manner, avoid possible mistakes and pitfalls, and learn from the best. On the one hand, the partnership structure allowed us to take into account the actual needs and expectations of the target group in conducted activities. On the other hand, it guaranteed high quality of the results achieved. The topic raised in the project is very important, but at the same time difficult to solve and thus postponed and marginalised for many years. Hence the idea to develop solutions in an international partnership. This is especially important nowadays, when more and more countries are experiencing staff shortages in the nursing profession, which is the result of many factors, including the difficulty of the profession, responsibility, a lack of proper gratification and insufficient social status. The Partners jointly decided that the project involving the exchange of experiences would be the best way to promote good solutions, exchange ideas and stimulate the search for further improvement solutions.