During a week of knowledge sharing about advanced nursing education, more than 15 nursing faculty from seven Brazilian universities across the country learned how the nurse practitioner role fits into the American health care system, as well as how this clinical role could be implemented abroad.

According to Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Community Engagement and Global Affairs Jeanne-Marie Stacciarini, PhD, RN, FAAN, who played a key role in establishing this collaboration and is also of Brazilian descent, this partnership is especially important as the nurse practitioner is not officially recognized in Brazil.

“These faculty are incredibly grateful for the work that is being done here to support nurse practitioner education in Brazil,” Stacciarini said. “I am so proud to be part of this commitment to education in the global sphere.”

While on-site, the visitors got a firsthand look at care teams at UF Health Shands and UF Health Archer Family Health Care to see how nurse practitioners ‘fit’ into the health care puzzle, as well as familiarize themselves with the comprehensive care they provide. To get an up-close and personal showcase of the college’s research and innovation, some faculty participated in this year’s Nursing Research Summit and Malasanos Lectureship, presenting projects that attempted to solve complex challenges facing the health care system today.

But according to the visitors, the most impressive aspect of the tour was seeing firsthand just how committed faculty, students and alumni were about DNP education, as well as serving a diverse community in Florida.

“It was truly impressive to see the involvement from UF and the broader nursing community,”

said Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina Professor Neide da Silva Knihs, PhD. “UF truly cares beyond education. I enjoyed hearing their insights, as well as the step-by-step overview of nurse practitioner roles.”

An exchange opportunity over 10 years in the making, this visit marked the third time that Brazilian leaders who are committed to the development of nurse practitioners had the opportunity to visit UF. During this visit, the college also had a special guest in attendance — Federal Nursing Council (COFEN) representative, Neyson Freire.

COFEN oversees the development, recognition and regulation necessary to implement advanced practice nursing in Brazil. Thanks to the college’s rigor and impact, plans to officially recommend UF to become the official university liaison and support for nurse practitioner education in Brazil are now in the process of being drafted by the council. A memorandum of understanding between the college and the Federal University of Goiás, as well as the University of São Paulo, is now pending.