Yonsei Evidence Based Nursing Centre of Korea Celebrates 15 Years

What motivated you to join JBI and the JBI Collaboration?

I wasn’t the founding director of the centre. However, I took a part in initiating the founding centre with two other faculty members. The first director was Dr. Eui Sook Kim (Professor Emeritus, YUCON), who had served from 2006 to 2008. I served as the second director of the Yonsei Evidence Based Nursing Centre of Korea for 12 years after that. 

As my area of interest has been in evidence-based nursing practice, I attended many international conferences on evidence-based healthcare. In 2004, I found the JBI booth at an evidence-based practice conference, which was hosted by the Chiang Mai University, and I became curious about the organisation. I visited the JBI booth during the break time and met Prof. Alan Pearson. He kindly explained JBI, and showed his interest in expanding the JBI Collaboration to Korea.  As soon as I returned back to Korea, I had a discussion with our dean to propose that our school become the first JBI Collaborating Entity in Korea. In 2006, our dean invited the JBI team, including Prof. Alan Pearson and Assoc Prof. Craig Lockwood to facilitate training sessions for our school’s faculty members on JBI’s systematic reviews methodology. 

Launching the JBI Collaborating Entity was critical for our school to establish the school’s new vision as we were facing the 100 years anniversary. As we lead the advancement of Korean Nursing, we have a strong commitment to facilitate evidence-based practice and expand knowledge, as well as the societal responsibility of the nursing profession. 

How did your interest in evidence-based practice begin? 

My clinical background is in intensive and critical care. While I was working as a nurse in ICU, I was highly interested in finding scientific evidence for diagnosis, treatment, and care services. My mentor at the ICU always provided me with insights on the importance of evidence, which gave me the motivation to pursue a graduate program. With the guidance and training from my doctoral advisor, Dr. Janet Larson (now at the University of Michigan) and her respiratory rehabilitation research team, I was able to learn how to find and critically review the quality of scientific evidence. Additionally, due the journal club’s weekly meetings, I was able to have access to the most up-to-date and the best available evidence in that area, thereby having insights on the importance of evidence in clinical practice.  

After 15 years, what still motivates you? 

I believe that evidence-based practice is the most effective and efficient way to pursue patients’ better health and their good life, which are ultimate goals that healthcare professionals wish to achieve. It also contributes to the advancement of our nursing science through the expansion of knowledge. As an expert in the field of nursing science, I have set my personal mission to educate and to train the next nurse generations to provide better care services through scientific evidence.  

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

When we started the centre, we invited some core nurses from Severance Hospital, our affiliated hospital. Our centre proposed to the vice-chancellor of the department of nursing, Severance Hospital, that an evidence-based nursing committee be established to train the committee members first in order to foster a champion group. Currently, with 15 years of cooperative efforts, the department of nursing in Severance Hospital is recognised as the best hospital in Korea with its unique and tremendously outstanding quality care services for the last ten years. Our faculty members have been actively practicing evidence-based practice nursing research at Severance Hospital, which led to a production of fruitful outcomes in terms of publications and presentations at professional conferences. 

In addition, I had initiated developing evidence-based practice courses for graduate and undergraduate RN-BSN programs. Without any prior gold standard textbook or syllabi, I tried to benchmark various evidence-based practice materials and examples of similar courses at an international level. Today, evidence-based practice has become a regular course for all levels of students in our school.  

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

I have learnt about the global leadership of JBI in implementing the organisation’s mission, vision and strategic plans. I also have learnt core values such as enthusiasm, responsibility, openness while I have been engaging as a member of the JBI Collaboration. Above all, I personally have learnt about the JBI model of evidence-based healthcare, and JBI’s various methodologies for synthesis and implementation science. 

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

A famous proverb goes: “if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”.  Better health with the best evidence is not a fast way, nor work to be achieved alone. So, if any other institute or organisation is pursuing evidence-based healthcare, my advice is for them is to work together with a prestigious global organisation that could serve as a mentor. I definitely recommend them to become a member of JBI Collaboration. In this way, a long-run strategy, including missions and ultimate purposes, may be achieved with a leading organisation, like JBI.  

Can you share one of your fondest memories with the JBI Collaboration?  

During JBI’s conference at Chicago, hosted by the Indiana Centre in 2010, I signed up for the Train-the-Trainer: Comprehensive Systematic Review Training Program. I had spent the entire two weeks on the training program, followed by three and a half days of intensive JBI Collaboration directors meetings and paper presentations. I accompanied our faculty member and hospital nurse who were committed to evidence-based practice at Severance Hospital. The schedule was so tough as it was filled with a heavy workload, I had jetlag, and my health was affected. But I really appreciated meeting the other JBI Collaboration directors; those who participated in the Train-the-Training program with me; building networks; and having excursions – these were some of the exciting moments. 

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

Our centre is the most prestigious nursing school in Korea and has achieved a series of ‘the first’ historical achievements: the first Masters’ and PhD programs, RN-BSN program, Nurse Practitioner program as well as the first evidence-based healthcare centre. Last year, our school was designated as a ‘Brain Korea 21’ for fostering future nursing leaders, and as the first research centre in nursing from the Korean government.  

Is there anything else you would like to share? 

I express my gratitude to JBI’s founding director Prof. Alan Pearson, who supported and helped our centre become the first JBI Collaborating Entity in Korea. I would like to thank Assoc Prof. Craig Lockwood, who shares knowledge and his warm heart to keep up our centre further progressing. I also would like to thank Prof. Zoe Zordan, who has a strong but gentle leadership style, with clear goals and well-organised plans. Most importantly, I would like to send my personal thanks to all JBI Collaboration members, with whom we share mutual goals and friendship.