Project

Collaborative Partners: NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing and LUHS Medical Academy, Faculty of Nursing

This project aims to develop, implement, and evaluate a new program for Advanced Nursing Practice at LUHS. The program awards a Master of Science degree to students prepared as nurse practitioners. It was initiated in Fall 2015 and, after two years, became open to international students, offering an English-taught curriculum. The program received approval from the Ministry of Health to address the population's need for increased access to primary care services and the enhancement of nursing roles through advanced education and training. To date, more than 60 graduates hold the title of nurse practitioner and practice with expanded nursing scopes and prescriptive authority.

Our collaboration began in January 2013. Professor Newland served as a visiting associate professor at LUHS in March 2015, thanks to grant funding from the Lithuanian Research Council. Professor Blazeviciene spent three months in the spring of 2016 at NYU Meyers as a Fulbright Scholar. Professor Newland returned to Lithuania in April/May 2018, supported by the Fulbright Specialist Program. The project continues through a renewable Memorandum of Understanding between NYU Meyers and LUHS and a cooperative agreement under the Erasmus+ Mobility Program of the European Union. Faculty exchange visits have occurred annually since 2018, and virtual online experiences between NYU and LUHS students were established in 2022.

This collaboration has led to changes in the nurse workforce in Lithuania, including the addition of nurse practitioners in primary care, emergency, intensive care, and nurse anesthesia. Faculty members have jointly presented at international conferences and authored scholarly publications.