On March 27, 2025, the Virtual Children’s Hospital for Learning Pediatric Nursing (VLPN) project hosted its first joint seminar, bringing together students from Turku University of Applied Science (TUAS), Cyprus University of Technology (CUT), and Tartu Applied Health Sciences University (TAHSU). This seminar aimed to enhance knowledge in pediatric nursing care, foster collaboration, and improve communication skills among participants.
Students were divided into five work groups, each focusing on a specific theme related to pediatric nursing:
- Pain Assessment and Alleviation in Children and Adolescents
- National Vaccination Programmes and Vaccine Hesitancy
- Prevention of Accidents in School-Aged Children (7-12 years)
- The Importance of Play as a Nursing Method
- Parental Role and Involvement in Taking Care of Hospitalized Children.
On the left: Word cloud of the participants expectations for the VLPN Joint Seminar in the beginning of the seminar. On the right: presentation of the group work.
Prior to the seminar, students worked together in the Teams Microsoft platform for approximately two weeks. This preparation period allowed them to familiarize themselves with their group members, discuss their themes, and plan their presentations.
The seminar provided ample opportunities to compare and discuss country-specific practices. Many students appreciated the chance to gain insights into how pediatric nursing is approached in different countries. The discussions and presentations significantly broadened their understanding of international children’s nursing practices.
One of the seminar’s goals was to strengthen English communication skills. While many students felt their skills improved, some found communicating in English challenging. This mixed feedback highlights the importance of continued focus on language skills in higher education. Group collaboration was a key component of the seminar. Students worked together in their assigned groups, discussing and presenting on their themes. The effectiveness of these collaborations varied, with some groups finding the experience very effective and others facing challenges.
Participants shared their favourite aspects of the seminar, highlighting international collaboration, exchange of ideas, acquisition of comprehensive information and new perspectives gained from the seminar in connection to the topics discussed.
However, some students faced technical difficulties, particularly with the Teams Microsoft platform, and noted that not all participants were equally engaged. The length of the seminar was mentioned as a downside by some students (3 hours with one 30-minutes break). Suggestions for improvement included better technical support, more introductory sessions with group leaders, and enhanced communication and collaboration among international teams.
Despite some challenges and areas for improvement, most participants would recommend similar international seminars to other students and the overall feedback was positive, leading to the conclusion that the first VLPN Joint Seminar was a resounding success, offering valuable insights into international children’s nursing practices and fostering collaboration among students from different countries.
The feedback and overview presented in this blog post are based on the anonymous feedback questionnaire that students filled out just after the seminar.
Written by Maarika Asi.