UIC Nursing leaders tour Thailand and South Korea
Object of trip was to meet with alumni, strengthen partnerships and co-host a major conference.
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Dean Eileen Collins, PhD, RN, FAAN, ATSF, and associate dean for global health Rohan Jeremiah, PhD, MPH, took a two-week trip to Thailand and South Korea to visit colleges and schools of nursing with strong ties to UIC Nursing, culminating in an international nursing conference in Chiang Mai, Thailand, last month.
UIC Nursing served as co-host of the conference, Global Health Recalibration: Strengthening Outcomes, Education, Clinical Practice, and Research. The three day affair was organized by the Faculty of Nursing, Chiang Mai University. Clinical associate professor Rebecca Singer, DNP ’18, RN, was one of the keynote speakers, and associate professor Cynthia Fritschi, PhD ’08, APRN, CDE, presented at the conference. Fritschi received an award for best presentation.
Other U.S. conference co-hosts included Columbia University School of Nursing, Duke University School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and University of Michigan School of Nursing.
It was Collins’ first visit to the region since becoming UIC Nursing dean in 2021. The trip took Collins and Jeremiah to institutions in Seoul, Bangkok and Chiang Mai, including four colleges of nursing led by UIC Nursing alums.
“It was gratifying to see the high esteem in which UIC Nursing is held in all three places,” Collins says. “We continue to play a huge role in contributing to the nurse faculty pipeline in both South Korea and in Thailand.”
In South Korea, they hosted an alumni reception and visited Yonsei University College of Nursing, where alumna Hyeonkyeong Lee, PhD ‘06, RN, FAAN, recently took over as dean. They also visited Kyung Hee University College of Nursing Science, where Younhee Jeong, PhD ’07, RN, is dean, followed by a visit to Chung-Ang University Red Cross College of Nursing, where they met with leadership and alumni, including Collins’ former PhD student, Julie Hong PhD ’17, BSN ’97, an associate professor.
In Bangkok, they visited two Mahidol University nursing schools: the Ramathibodi School of Nursing, where Poolsuk Janepanish Visudtibhan, PhD ’08, is director, and the Faculty of Nursing, where Yajai Sitthimongkol, PhD ’94, MS ‘92, RN, is immediate past dean. They also visited Thammasat University, where they were met by alumnus and assistant dean for international, research and communication affairs Priyoth Kittiteerasack, PhD’20, RN. Collins and Jeremiah also hosted a well-attended reception for alumni and friends in Bangkok on Sept. 2.
Finally, they attended the conference in Chiang Mai, which included a visit with alumna Suparat Wangsrikhun, PhD’03, MS’99, RN, incoming dean of Chiang Mai University Faculty of Nursing, and a meeting with other WHO Collaborating Centres for Nursing and Midwifery.
Jeremiah adds that it’s rewarding to see PhD students who had been mentored in Chicago now serving on the faculty of Thailand and South Korean institutions. They also met with potential future PhD students and discussed opportunities for collaboration.
“Our alumni have gone on to become deans and professors at various institutions in the region and they’ve spread the word about the wonderful experience they had at our college and in Chicago,” he says.
