A pair of future nurses will soon take their training to the next level by having their skills and knowledge tested on an international stage.

Next week, a team of Red River College students will travel to Shanghai, China, to compete in the seventh International Nursing Skills Competition, hosted by the Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences. There, they’ll face off against teams from more than 40 colleges and universities from around the world, in a series of intense nursing scenarios.

Elyse Griffith, a second-year student, and Rachel Rubin, who’s in her third year, will represent Red River College — and Manitoba — in the competition. This year marks the first time a Manitoba school has competed, and only the second year teams from Canada have taken part.

“I’m looking forward to engaging with students from other countries and learning about their experiences,” says Rubin. “There will be different procedures for the same scenario, and I think you can always learn from the way other people find solutions. It will be interesting to share knowledge and find common ground.”

Rubin and Griffith have been meeting weekly with Nursing instructors Myrna Davis and Sandy Alguire — and with Chris Hofer, a second-year student selected as the team’s alternate — to prepare for the competition.

“Most of the learning happens in the scenarios,” says Griffith. “A lot of the skills we’re learning are things I haven’t done in clinical [training)] yet. It’s really helpful, knowing what we might be walking into.”

The competition is intended to display and test the nursing skills of participants, and to promote the improvement of nursing education around the world. Each team will be judged on its members’ ability to complete five components during each scenario:

• Correctly assessing the situation
• Responding caringly and therapeutically to the patient
• Moving and/or positioning the patient
• Performing a procedure
• Teaching the patient and/or patient family member something new

“It’s been an incredible learning experience,” says Hofer of the training so far. “To be a part of the team, learning new techniques, and giving and receiving feedback on a weekly basis has already helped me gain confidence in my skills.”

The team leaves for Shanghai on Nov. 7. The competition itself takes place on Nov. 11.

Shown above (from left): Myrna Davis, Elyse Griffith, Rachel Rubin, Chris Hofer and Sandy Alguire.