Bachelor of Nursing Advanced Practice Cum Laude Degree for Zambian Student

BY: .

Top student in UKZN’s Bachelor of Nursing Advanced Practice degree class of 2014 is cum laude graduate, Ms Bupe Mwamba of Zambia.

Mwamba excelled in the Midwifery and Neonatal Care programme, presenting a paper at the 2014 East, Central and Southern Africa College of Nursing Conference in Harare, Zimbabwe, highlighting the need to improve new-born care.

Mwamba said every human life was precious, hence quality of care at every stage of the human life was critical.

She received an automatic scholarship to study at UKZN for having an average of more than 80 percent in the 2013 academic year. Mwamba was also invited to join the Golden Key International Honour Society for being among the top 15 percentile of UKZN students in 2014.

‘I’m so thankful to God the Almighty for this achievement,’ she said, describing the success as a great accomplishment in her life which she would cherish forever. ‘Indeed where there is a will there is a way,’ said Mwamba.

‘My family and friends are excited about this and they’ve said that my determination deserved the best results.’

Mwamba said her vision of becoming the change that people want to see in the world was her internal driving force. ‘My aim is to be a change agent in maternal and child health issues.’

She said having been a registered nurse midwife prior to completing her latest qualification, she had a clear goal of advancing herself in midwifery and neonatal care. ‘I have a passion for neonatal care and love helping mothers hence a Bachelor of Nursing Advanced Practice Programme in Midwifery and Neonatal Science was a step in the right direction.’

The road to success was not always easy for Mwamba who shared that being an international student had its challenges in KwaZulu-Natal where the dominant language was isiZulu.

‘Life has taught me to be humble and within a short period of time I overcame the language barrier as I was able to respond to isiZulu conversations in English which was an awesome experience.’

UKZN was the only institution of higher learning she identified which offered the degree she sought. ‘I had an awesome experience at UKZN and God provided a new family for me - the Association of Catholic Tertiary Students (ACTS) was my home away from home.’

She is now pursuing a Masters in Maternal and Child Health at the University of Cape Town which she intends to finish by the end of 2015.

‘My heartfelt gratitude goes to all my lecturers, my facilitator and course co-ordinators,’ she said.

Lunga Memela