Dementia Education and Training for Workforce Excellence by Leah Macaden
With ageing and dementia being global issues and keen to invest in workforce development in the care of older people through education and training, I identified The Churchill Fellowship as an ideal opportunity and appropriate vehicle to both learn and share expertise in this critical area of nursing when I became a British Citizen in 2018.
Leah Macaden
Key Objectives of my Churchill Fellowship were to:
- Explore models and pedagogical approaches to dementia education and practice for health care professionals with experts from both developed and developing nations.
- Engage in Knowledge Exchange on Dementia Education for Nurses.
- Identify partners for academic collaboration to explore possibilities to develop a evidence based model for dementia nurse education.
- Become an excellent ambassador of Higher Education in Nursing and The Churchill Fellowship in the United Kingdom.
Leah Macaden being recognized as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing at an Award Ceremony in Washington DC.
The United States of America 2019 – Phase 1
Phase 1 of my Fellowship was completed in July / August 2019 with two premier Nursing Schools in the world: the University of Pennsylvania [UPenn] & Johns Hopkins University successfully. Following this visit, I had a personal invitation and sponsorship from colleagues at UPenn & Johns Hopkins in 2022 to become a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing [FAAN] which is very prestigious and opens the door for advocacy and policy development. The American Academy of Nursing (Academy) recognised me as a Fellow of this prestigious Academy in recognition of my outstanding contributions to health and health care through dementia education and workforce development at the Academy’s annual Health Policy Conference, in October 2022 at Washington, DC. I was one of 250 distinguished nurse leaders from around the world, one of 4 in the UK and the only one from Scotland to be inducted into the 2022 Class of Fellows.
Leah Macaden with the Faculty of Nursing at Gachon University, Incheon in South Korea
South Korea & India 2024 – Phase 2
Professor Eunhi Kong from Gachon University in South Korea also an alumnus of UPenn visited me in Inverness whilst I worked at the University of the Highlands & Islands in Feb 2019 as part of her sabbatical to explore collaboration on innovative approaches to dementia workforce development. Learning of my visit to the US in July / Aug 2019, Professor Kong met up with me in the US again on her sabbatical and was instrumental in expanding my international network through online discussions during the pandemic with her colleagues at Seoul National University and Yonsei University in South Korea.
I had the privilege of visiting and actively engaging in Knowledge Exchange in all three universities in South Korea and The Christian Medical College, Vellore in India, also my Alma Mater for Phase 2 of my Fellowship to share my experiences on Innovation, Interdisciplinarity and Coproduction for Research Integrated Teaching & Technology Enabled Workforce Education – A Strategic Focus in Gerontological Nursing.
The Churchill Fellowship was such an amazing and invaluable opportunity to pursue my passion and make a difference in an area of global need and relevance through innovation, high quality and research integrated nurse education. It opened several doors for me to meet new colleagues across the world, expand my networks that continue to grow, make friends for life, learn through travel and knowledge exchange; The Fellowship offered me an immense privilege to share my knowledge, skills and expertise to invest in dementia education and training in the future nursing workforce across three different nations beyond the UK; Whilst the focus of my Fellowship was approaches to dementia workforce development, there was a lot of broader learning around nurse education, research and health care systems in these parts of the world and harness the potential for collaboration. The Fellowship has enriched my life both personally and professionally on several counts and has reaffirmed my firm belief that collaboration, networking and knowledge exchange are the building blocks to address issues of global relevance. The Churchill Fellowship is a visionary approach and a two-way street that is well supported all the way through to both learn and share best practice in an area that we are passionate about and bring about change for societal benefit through collective and coordinated endeavours.
I believe Nursing is a “Global Bank” that I have both drawn from and contributed to for nearly four decades now that has enriched me immensely both as an individual and as a professional. However, I also passionately believe and deeply desire to leave this bank a bit healthier for the future workforce to be able to continue make a difference to societal benefit around an issue that is of huge significance both in the UK and globally – i.e. ageing and dementia. My Fellowship has been pivotal to achieving this in a very tangible way opening the world of global networking.
I was recognised as a Churchill Fellow at the award ceremony in the Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, London on the 3rd of Sept 2024.
On the 18th of September, 2024 I have also been Certified as a Global Nurse Consultant in Dementia, Nurse Education, Research & Co – Production by the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) International and the International Council of Nurses.
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