From Training to Safer Care: GMKA Program Reaches More Than 3,000 Ukrainian Nurses
When Nataliia Ruzhylo was in ninth grade, she spent several weeks in a hospital and saw firsthand the work nurses do to keep patients safe. That experience shaped her decision to enter the profession. Thirty-three years later, as Deputy Medical Director for Nursing at Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Clinical Hospital, she is working to strengthen the quality and safety of nursing care at her hospital.
Natalia’s goal is to help make quality and patient safety part of everyday nursing practice — measured not only in numbers, but in the care patients receive.
This year, Global Medical Knowledge Alliance (GMKA), together with nursing experts from Houston Methodist and in collaboration with Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Clinical Hospital, helped bring quality and safety training directly to Ukrainian healthcare professionals. The virtual program "Quality and Safety in Nursing 2.0" covered infection prevention and control, hand hygiene, proper use of personal protective equipment, team communication, and safety culture. The demand was significant: 3,157 professionals registered, more than 1,000 joined the live sessions, and recorded lectures drew 2,465 views.
“Nurses spend more time with patients than any other members of the healthcare team and are often the first to notice changes in a patient’s condition. Patient safety and the quality of care depend directly on their knowledge, skills, and professional confidence,” says Inesa Huivaniuk, MD, MPA, surgical oncologist and Co-Executive Director of GMKA. “That is why strengthening nursing and expanding access to modern education are among GMKA’s key strategic priorities.”
This was the second nursing education program GMKA has implemented in partnership with Houston Methodist. All sessions included simultaneous Ukrainian interpretation, and the lectures remain freely available on GMKA’s educational platform, extending the program’s reach and value well beyond the live course.
More than 80% of participants had over 10 years of clinical experience, meaning the program reached professionals who can influence not only their own practice, but also the work of their teams and departments.
For Nataliia, who has spent more than three decades in nursing, the need for this kind of education is clear.
“For many decades in our country, infection control was treated largely as a formality and was based on practices that were not evidence-based. Quality was discussed mainly at large administrative meetings, often through dry statistical presentations. Even today, quality in nursing practice does not receive enough attention,” she says. “I strongly recommend this course as a way to support the implementation of quality and safety practices in our hospitals.”
From Learning to Practice
Pre- and post-course assessments showed measurable gains in infection control, prevention of healthcare-associated infections, and safety culture. Participants reported putting the training to work immediately: "I use the 'Five Moments for Hand Hygiene,' correctly use personal protective equipment, monitor the sterility of instruments and the work environment, and apply effective team communication to improve patient safety," one participant said.
This is the outcome GMKA aims for: not education for its own sake, but knowledge that changes everyday clinical practice.
Building Capacity Beyond a Single Course
The program is part of a broader collaboration between GMKA, Houston Methodist, and Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Clinical Hospital that pairs education with clinical assessment, data-driven quality improvement, and expert support — strengthening both individual professionals and the institutions they work within.
An investment in nursing education reaches far beyond a single course. It strengthens the people and systems responsible for patient safety every day — and helps build a stronger healthcare system for Ukraine.