The Louisiana Centre for Promotion of Optimal Health Outcomes celebrates 10 years

Congratulations on your 10-year anniversary! What motivated you to join the JBI Collaboration? 

At first, we were looking for a way to enhance scholarship amongst our faculty. Dr Demetrius Porche, the dean of the School of Nursing, had attended a conference in 2010 where he spoke with some USA JBI Collaborating Entity faculty and learned about training for systematic reviews. Shortly after, Dr Porche and I had a video call with Assoc Prof Craig Lockwood and Assoc Prof Edoardo Aromataris who explained about JBI and how the training programs worked.  

In March 2011 our first cohort of faculty were trained to conduct systematic reviews at one of the JBI Collaborating Entities in the USA, the Indiana Center for Evidence Based Nursing Practice. Within two years that number expanded to 20. In July 2011, we applied to join the JBI Collaboration as a JBI Affiliated Group, which was awarded later that same year. In 2015, six faculty were trained by JBI staff from Adelaide to be trainers of the Comprehensive Systematic Review Training Program trainers, and in 2018, we trained six faculty and clinical partner staff as trainers of the Evidence-based Clinical Fellows Program (which is now known as the Evidence Implementation Training Program).  

How did your interest in evidence-based practice start? 

As a nurse engaged in research since 1985, I am interested in the science underlying the practice and decisions we make for healthcare and healthcare delivery. As a qualitative researcher, I was intrigued that Professor Alan Pearson and the JBI scientists offered an expansive definition of evidence that included qualitative and other approaches, in addition to quantitative. My interest in JBI and evidence-based practice coincided with our School of Nursing offering the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree in 2012, which focused on evidence-based practice, rather than research.  

After 10 years, what still motivates you? 

The people involved with JBI are amazing. From the Centre level, regional level, international colloquia, and Adelaide home office, I have rarely worked with such innovative, motivating and dedicated academics and clinicians. I find the colloquia and regional meetings keep me focused and energised. I have also made several lifelong friends and colleagues from amongst the global JBI Collaboration. 

What has your Centre achieved that you are most proud of? 

Obtaining Centre of Excellence status was exhilarating! (And maintaining it is quite a bit of work!) 

What are the stand-out lessons you have learnt in your time with JBI? 

There is no substitute for quality. Once you have a systematic review or implementation report accepted for publication in the JBI journals (JBI Evidence Synthesis and JBI Evidence Implementation), you feel confident that your team has produced a work of merit.  

Learning is constant in the JBI methodologies, accompanied by frequent change and technological progress. Working with JBI SUMARI and the new JBI PACES is challenging but rewarding. 

What would be the one piece of advice you would give to someone thinking of joining the JBI Collaboration? 

Do not wait. Contact JBI or go to the JBI Collaboration webpage and contact JBI Collaborating Entities (JBIC Entities) close to your area. The JBIC Entities are very welcoming and helpful, open to mentoring those who wish to become a member of the JBI Collaboration, and offer opportunities to collaborate on projects. 

Can you share one of your fondest memories of the JBIC? 

I attended my first colloquium in 2012 in Thailand. Everything about that experience was new to me and I loved every minute of it: the country, the people, the host JBIC Entity staff, the attendees from all over the world and meeting JBI staff from Adelaide, Australia. I had little idea what was going on regarding meeting structure, events, etc. I was very fortunate to meet several others who were also new JBIC directors attending for the first time, and we made a pact to stick together and tell each other all that we learned. We constantly besieged JBI’s administrative staff with questions, and they were patient and gracious with us [thank you Pam Fletcher and many others!]. Although I will retire in 2022, I am scheming to attend the 2023 face-to-face colloquium in Prague, just for fun! 

Can you share something about your Centre that other entities may not know? 

New Orleans, home of the Louisiana Centre for Promotion of Optimal Health Outcomes: A JBI Centre of Excellence, is ‘the city that care forgot’ or ‘laissez le bon temps rouler’! It is a place of history (by USA standards), great beauty, food, music and romance. It is a city of celebration and one of the few cities in the USA that is not death-denying. We celebrate everything and find joy in everyday life. Visitors to our city often just see the celebration component and not the underlying, practical joy of living. While the visitors are partying on Bourbon Street, those of us who live here go to work every day and attend festivals on weekends that honour local culture. So don’t be fooled by the reputation – we are a hard-working group, with a taste for life!  

Is there anything else you would like to share? 

I think the next face-to-face colloquia will be memorable, for many reasons, but mainly for the opportunities that emerge when so many gifted and caring people come together for the cause of global healthcare. 

Thank you for your continued commitment and effort, Marsha and team. We wish you luck for the future!