Abstract
Background: Interplast Australia and New Zealand was established to provide voluntary teams of expertly qualified surgeons, nurses, anesthetists, and allied health care professionals to provide free plastic and reconstructive surgery to the people of neighboring developing countries. Nepal is a developing country that has received overseas assistance for plastic and reconstructive surgery with Interplast since 2007.
Aim: The aim of this article was to present three (3) case examples derived from Nepal to illuminate the enhanced capacity of Nepalese plastics and reconstructive health care professionals who have received education facilitated by Interplast
Method: Case presentations.
Discussion: The work performed by Interplast demonstrates that such barriers can be overcome by providing safe, effective, and life-changing plastic surgery to the people of Nepal. Through a collaborative education engagement (described in this article as provided to nursing and other health care workers) volunteers who work with Interplast were able to enable and empower plastics nursing and allied health staff located at the participating site to continue to facilitate complex surgery to the local Nepalese community. Participatory education is an educational approach used by the volunteers working with Interplast
Conclusion: This collaborative approach offered a means to transfer knowledge into practice for better patient outcomes for nurses and allied health staff in a developing country such as Nepal.