As chapter leaders, we recognise the benefits and impact of positive international partnerships— empowering us, as nurses, to increase our capacity to address global health challenges, assist Sigma in its vision to be an intentionally global organisation, increase the health of our respective chapters, and improve the quality of our student education experience. In 2022, we launched a partnership initiative to bring together the Phi Mu Chapter in England and the Beta Zeta at-Large Chapter in western Massachusetts, USA, through an informal peer chapter collaboration, linking chapter initiatives and, crucially, linking North America and Europe at the individual chapter level. This innovative partnership not only brought each chapter’s leadership together to share chapter business meetings and events, but it also brought together our respective student communities to build relationships, understand cultural differences, accept diversity, learn from each other, and grow together.
Background
Since 2009, Sigma has become an intentionally global organisation, changing its infrastructure by reconfiguring its leadership and creating seven global regions. Since then, the membership has steadily moved from North American-centred to more internationally focused. Despite the leadership becoming more collaborative at the international level and the strengthening of chapters at a regional level through dedicated regional coordinators, we recognised that many individual chapters around the world continue to work in isolation, failing to take advantage of the ethos of improved internationalisation.
Context
It is important to understand the differences between how Sigma creates chapters within and outside of the US. Within the US, chapters have traditionally been established within one school of nursing, in partnership with a local healthcare organisation, or in collaboration with another school of nursing. Such joint chapters created by more than one organisation are termed at-large chapters. Alternatively, chapters outside of North America are generally created across the whole country. The Phi Mu Chapter, for example, is responsible for the recruitment, retention, and engagement of members from across approximately 80 universities and healthcare settings in England, whilst the Beta Zeta at-Large Chapter in the US is comprised of five colleges and universities within the western Massachusetts area. Therefore, our two chapters share their own challenges in communicating and engaging their membership. Despite the challenges that our two chapters share in terms of our communication strategies, the focus of our peer chapter collaboration is about creating a partnership between ourselves, learning our different ways of working, and establishing good communication for success.
The partnership
For almost three years, this partnership has grown in strength both from the leadership of each chapter and in developing and encouraging our student communities to understand international dimensions in healthcare delivery and in how future nurses are educated for their professional careers. In addition to meeting as a partnership, we initiated joint virtual student networking events with short introductory keynote presentations, followed by small breakout meetings for students to meet their counterparts from across the Atlantic and learn from each other. Additionally, those leading the partnership have shared their chapter board meetings and attended in-person events. To encourage other partnerships across the global Sigma community, it is worth reflecting on and exploring the reasons for its success. Our chapters recognised that the success of international partnerships consists of several key features, including strong communication; a commitment and perseverance to the aims of the project; understanding the cultural context of each partner; and flexibility and responsiveness of each partner to the needs of the other.
Strong communication
Of all of the core features, the most important was the need for strong communication alongside the creation of an open and trusting climate within our developing relationship.
Communicating online, we primarily spent time getting to know one another and establishing a vision and goals for our partnership. We agreed that our goals were to reflect on our shared chapter management experiences and learn from each other, to respect our diversity and distinct professional nursing heritage, and to respond to nursing practice and education challenges of an evolving global healthcare landscape, whilst strengthening the health of our respective chapters.
Once we agreed on the ground rules of our partnership, we considered the frequency, duration, and timing of our meetings, recognising that the frequency of communication was as important as how we communicated. We agreed to hold monthly one-hour meetings. This kept the relationship dynamic and ensured a meaningful connection. Keeping the initial meetings small so that we could get to know each other was crucial. Respecting and valuing each other was key to the partnership’s success. Initially, three members from each chapter established the partnership, and the relationship has flourished.
Commitment and perseverance are the aims of the project
Choosing a time to meet is important to allow each partner to realistically spare time during the workday so that participants are not under undue pressure to leave due to other commitments. With a five-hour time difference, we chose to meet in the UK at 1700 local time, and at noon in Massachusetts, when members may have more time to attend without commitments or interruption.
We have achieved so much because each individual is committed to the members of our partnership and the aims of the project. Our commitment fed our individual perseverance to achieve success. Indeed, the partnership has witnessed our collective growth and the enjoyment and learning of our students.
Understanding the cultural context of each partner
Despite our common language, we are culturally distinct and different. Each meeting teaches us something about our different professional cultures such as our different education preparation, examination processes, governance, and regulation. Additionally, our decision to draw on our student groups, through three student networking events, has helped them to learn about the profession across the geographic divide and this has been insightful for us all. Students have found the networking opportunities and breakout room discussions so enjoyable that as chapter leaders, we hope to create such opportunities biannually. The evaluations of these student events have been consistently encouraging with excellent attendance on both sides of the Atlantic.
Flexibility and responsiveness of each partner to the needs of the other
As the partnership moves forward, the leading members have sought to establish personal friendships through attending in-person events in addition to the online meetings. Members from the Beta Zeta at-Large Chapter volunteered to become actively involved in presenting and leading sessions in person at Sigma’s 7th Biennial European Regional Conference in Bournemouth, England. This in-person engagement was highly successful, particularly in cementing the relationship between members of the two chapters. Additionally, in reciprocation, Sigma’s international President-elect from England delivered the endnote address at the Sigma Region 15 US Nursing Symposium in 2024. This commitment to flex our schedules to accommodate each other’s events has illustrated our commitment to respond to each other’s needs. Additionally, we seek to further develop our partnership by focusing more on academic exchange whilst continuing to support the student events extending the leadership groups, and subsequently further developing our vision for the partnership.
Conclusion
As the partnership develops further, more of each chapter’s leadership team has become involved but it has been the early foundation that has established our commitment to each other. This shared sense of loyalty has helped us to further develop our joint scholarly endeavours to create opportunities to explore our collective expertise in the international arena through publication.
We can confirm that academic partnerships are important mechanisms to bring the nursing community together in the promotion of scholarship, sharing the principles of human caring and compassionate leadership, and above all the importance of mutuality and continuity to ensure our sustainability. Our effective partnership has created opportunities for us to broaden our horizons in terms of our understanding of global health, helped us to improve our chapter health and our student experience through innovation, and supported Sigma’s global excellence goals. We wholeheartedly recommend other chapters create such a partnership to the benefit of individuals, their chapters, and ultimately Sigma.
Members of the Phi Mu Chapter and Beta Zeta at-Large Chapter contributing to this article include:
Elizabeth A. Rosser, DPhil, MN, RN, RM, Dip RM, Dip N Ed, RNT, PFHEA, is a Professor Emeritus at Bournemouth University, England and Board member of Sigma’s Phi Mu Chapter. She is a past Director on the Sigma Board of Directors.
Leslie Gelling, PhD, MA, BSc(Hons), PGCert, RN, FHEA, FRSA, is Associate Professor in Adult Nursing, Bournemouth University. He is a member of Sigma’s Governance Committee and President of Sigma’s Phi Mu Chapter.
Cheryl Sheils, EdD, RN, is Adjunct Professor of Nursing at Bay Path University. She is a member of Sigma’s Beta Zeta at-Large Chapter.
Cheryl Sabola, MSN, RN, is Clinical Faculty, Elaine Marieb College of Nursing, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is a member of Sigma’s Beta Zeta at-Large Chapter.
Nancy Thompson, MS, RN, Clinical Faculty, Elaine Marieb College of Nursing, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is the Chapter Membership Ambassador, a member of the Sigma Governance Committee, and a member of Sigma’s Beta Zeta at-Large Chapter.
Vanessa Heaslip, PhD, MA, BSc (Hons), DipHe, RN, DN, is Professor of Nursing and Healthcare Equity at the University of Salford, England. She is the President-elect of Sigma’s Phi Mu Chapter.
Liz Westcott, DCM, MSc, DipMan, RNT, RN, is currently working at Oxford Brookes University, UK. She is an Executive Coach and a Company Director. She is Sigma’s President-elect.