Children's nursing in Russia: the future generation of professionals

Nurses in Russia are trained by doctors who continue to define nurses' role after qualification. A children's hospital in Moscow, assisted by workers from a British charity, the Tushinskaya Children's Hospital Trust, is currently attempting to give nurses more autonomy and control. The project focuses on the examination and delivery of nursing care within the context of the Russian healthcare system. The aim of the project is to improve the holistic care of the hospitalized child and his/her family. Healthcare workers receive training in family-centered care, the emotional care of the child, interpersonal skills and infection control. Teachers, in conjunction with a Moscow medical school, run a course in paediatric nursing. A formal evaluation of the project is difficult because of the cultural differences in the measurement of quality. However, there are plans to use a model ward which was set up by Russian and British colleagues at the Tushinskaya Children's Hospital as an example of good practice to other hospitals in Moscow.