25th October 2001

Email this Page |

The University of Ulster is to become the first university in the world to train nurses to combat bio-terrorism following the spate of anthrax attacks in the US.

It has teamed up with the University of Rochester in New York State to develop a joint course that will equip nurses with the skills to treat people exposed to chemical and biological warfare.

The course is a development of the University of Ulster’s Master of Science degree in disaster relief nursing – the only one of its kind in the world.

Students from the University and the University of Rochester will study the joint course simultaneously via the UU’s innovative Campus One e-learning initiative.

Professor Clive Mulholland, Director of the UU Institute for Lifelong Learning, said: “The University of Rochester is one of our strategic partners in the US and we are looking forward to developing e-learning programmes with them.

“They have an excellent school of nursing and there is a natural synergy with our e-learning and nurse training and research expertise, particularly our unique MSc in Disaster Relief nursing. The existing course is being adapted following the terrible terrorist attacks of September 11 and the subsequent anthrax threats”.

“The anthrax attacks demonstrate the need for proper disaster planning and the need for nurses and other medical experts with the skills to deal with such situations”.

Currently there are 30 nurses spread over the three years of the disaster relief nursing programme. Seven nurses are already on location at disaster situations in Eastern Europe and Africa. These nurses are involved in research on disaster nursing and will report their findings at a an International Conference to be held at the University of Ulster, Magee campus on 30th August next year. They will also graduate with an MSc in Disaster Relief Nursing and participate in a major disaster simulation exercise that will occur in Northern Ireland in the days following the conference.

Pat Deeny, academic co-ordinator for nursing at Magee, said the course prepares nurses for leadership roles while working with multi-national disaster relief teams.

“They work in multinational teams that are involved in disasters world-wide. Disasters such as floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or civil wars any event that overwhelms the local healthcare infrastructures. They not only help countries cope with the acute problems of the disaster but also assist with the social reconstruction”, he added.

Mr Deeny, who is also a member of an international group examining the development of nursing curricula in the USA, said: “The link up with the University of Rochester is an acknowledgement of our expertise in nurse education and research, particularly in the field of disaster relief. We hope that it may prove to be the launch pad for further development of such programmes in the US and world-wide.”

Professor Hugh McKenna, Head of School stated “This important initiative is one of many collaborations we have made with centres of excellence in the United States and there has been a recent increase in the number of visiting US scholars who wish to come and work with education and research teams in Ulster”.

For further information, please contact:

Press Office Department of Communication and Development
Telephone: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk