The course is aimed at preparing non-EU nursing personnel for entry into the EU workforce. In the Veneto Region of Italy alone, there is a need for an estimated 1500 nurses a year while in Western Europe the number reaches 60,000. The SkyNurse pilot project, in collaboration with the Romanian Universities, will recruit and train 180 nurses in 14 months. After training, candidates will have the opportunity to take the Italian certification exam and the qualified nurses will be placed in hospitals and healthcare centers in the Veneto Region.
"The Skynurse project is an excellent tool to communicate and transfer knowledge and information within the European community and the countries of Eastern Europe", states Francesco Feliciani, Head of the Applications Section in the ESA Telecom department and Technical Officer of the project.
The course is addressed at Romanian nurses with a solid professional background and knowledge of the Italian language. It will be delivered 3 times and is divided into 2 phases: a 3-month intensive distance learning course followed by a 1-month residential training program in Italy. All course content is in Italian to facilitate entry into Italian healthcare facilities.
Partners of the project, Didael, Eukrasia, Telbios and Trastec, have developed an educational and technical solution for e-learning to implement the professional training program designed for non-EU nursing personnel. It aims to reinforce notions of basic nursing and to train students to European nursing standards and practices without leaving home. Self-paced study and a virtual classroom environment in their home country will give students the edge of being professionally and linguistically prepared before arriving in a new country.
The SkyNurse project is currently being extended to Bulgaria through a grant from the Italian Foreign Ministry.
SkyNurse provides an integrated distance learning platform for content delivery. Romanian nurses will be able to access the web based learning environment and the satellite communication platform through a single internet portal, Medlearning, provided by Telbios. The portal contains on-line learning content, specially developed by Eukrasia and Didael, and eLearning services such as forums, chatrooms and e-mail as well as access to prescheduled live learning sessions. Live sessions will be transmitted via satellite by project leader, Trastec, from the up-link station located in Padua, Italy.
The project is being carried out in collaboration with Politehnica of the University of Bucharest and the University of Pitesti. Each University is hosting a SkyNurse classroom which has been equipped with computers and satellite reception equipment and is providing operational support. The Universities are also organizing intensive Italian language courses for the participating nurses.
The pilot service phase of SkyNurse is based on the utilisation of the Hellas Sat 2 satellite, made available to ESA by the Hellenic Ministry of Transport and Communications to support the development and demonstration of new applications in the field of Satcom.
