BPSO expansion: On the international stage

The important work of BPG implementation and evaluation continues around the world, and there was special attention this spring on Ibero-America (Latin America, Spain and Portugal). The newest group of BPSO graduates to receive their designation at RNAO’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in June included Chile’s Hospital del Trabajador, which reports directly to RNAO, and five organizations in Spain that report to their Host organization, Investén-isciii (these include Hospital Universitario Puerta del Mar, Hospital Universitario de Jaén, UGC de Guadiato, Gerencia de Servicios Sanitarios de Atención Primaria de Tenerife, and Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Gran Canaria Doctor Negrín).

The efforts and positive outcomes of BPG implementation for the Ibero-American consortium are particularly noteworthy, thanks in part to the ongoing leadership of RNAO’s CEO Dr. Doris Grinspun, whose native tongue is Spanish and who was born in Chile. Grinspun, accompanied by RNAO’s senior multimedia/marketing producer Raúl Pinto, visited Chile this past spring to provide training for new BPSOs. The pair then headed to Colombia to conduct audits on that country’s already established BPSOs. More visits are planned in the coming months to Spain’s Burgos University, and also to Portugal’s Escola Superior de Enfermagem do Porto (ESEP) and Universidade Atlântica, where Grinspun will provide the two academic institutions with training on how to implement BPGs into their nursing program curriculum, alongside Dr. Amalia Silva, BPSO Lead from Universidad de Chile and Host for academic institutions in that country.

Expansion of BPSOs at the international level now also includes Nigeria’s ministry of health, which signed an agreement in June 2024 to become a BPSO Host. The country’s health system, which provides care to more than 200 million people, is comprised of 73 tertiary health institutions spread across six geopolitical zones. These institutions are supervised by the ministry of health. Training – which will take place virtually in January 2025 – will be led by Dr. Michelle Rey-Lloyd, RNAO’s BPG Centre director, and Dionne Sinclair, BPSO lead, VP of clinical operations, and chief nursing executive at Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.  

Find out more by visiting our interactive and searchable map of BPSOs around the world.