31 October 2007

From frontline of war to frontline of healthcare

The University of Dundee has bestowed degrees on its 30 newest nursing graduates - a class which includes battle-hardened veterans of one of Africa’s longest and bloodiest conflicts.

The graduation ceremony in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, which saw the graduates collect their Bachelor of Nursing degrees, was the result of a Distance Learning programme run by the University.

Eritrea is a poor country, still emerging from the impact of 30 years' bloody war with neighbouring Ethiopia. The students represented many branches of nursing and midwifery, including community and public health and also mental health. Some had been barefoot doctors in the war years.

University Vice-Principal Professor James Calderhead was in Asmara to bestow the degrees upon the graduates, who represent the second cohort to graduate through the programme.

"This is a programme which is having a real impact on health services in Eritrea, training a new generation of ward sisters, charge nurses and senior managers who can bring new skills to the frontline of healthcare," said Professor Calderhead.

"The work being done by the Distance Learning Centre in Dundee and by the students here in Eritrea shows how we can make a real impact in Africa and help to build the healthcare infrastructure that will help a country like Eritrea for many years to come."

The Distance Learning Centre, part of the College of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing at the University, was contracted in June 2003 by the Ministry of Health in Eritrea with the prime objective of enabling senior Eritrean nurses to graduate in advanced nursing studies, thus bringing a greater level of much-needed expertise to the country.

"Eritrea only has around 220 doctors serving a population of 4 million, so the role that nurses play is extremely important in delivering healthcare," said Pauline Horton, Education and Programmes Leader for the Distance Learning Centre.

"We graduated 18 new nurses two years ago and have another 25 this time, all of whom will take new expertise into their communities. The hope then is that they can pass this on and improve the levels of training and expertise within the country."

Despite the distance learning mode of delivery, the contract includes some face-to-face teaching, delivered in Eritrea.

A third cohort of students are already enrolled on the programme.

The Distance Learning Centre (Nursing and Palliative Care) is engaged with students in seventeen different countries all over the world. It is fully accredited by the major American nursing bodies the National League for Nursing Accreditation Commission (NLNAC) and the American Nursing Credentialing Centre (ANCC).

NOTES TO EDITORS

Since 2000 the Distance Learning Centre, at University of Dundee, working collaboratively with its Kenya Partner, the Kenyan Medical Training College (KMTC) in Nairobi has delivered the Bachelor of Nursing degree and a Master of Nursing degree to Qualified Registered Nurses in Kenya, who previously had little opportunity to continue professional learning to meet the contemporary healthcare needs in their country.

At the present time there are 118 students on the undergraduate programme and another 28 on the postgraduate Master of Nursing Programme. Those on the Masters programme are receiving sponsorship from the Commonwealth Scholarship Fund. It is anticipated that a further 29 students will join this programme in November 2007. This contract involves a new partnership with the African Medical Research Foundation [AMRF]. The new class comprises nurses on the Master of Nursing, and [for the first time] students undertaking the multi-professional Masters in Palliative Care. Selected students for the Palliative Masters Programme include nurses, pharmacists and medical doctors.

Although these programmes are delivered by distance learning, learning is tailored to the student's work situation and the needs of patients. Staff from the DLC travel to Kenya twice a year to induct new students to the programmes and to maintain direct links with KMTC; they will be forging the new links with AMREF.

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Roddy Isles
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University of Dundee
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E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk