History-making 18 Seychellois Nursing Students Graduate through UKZN

BY: .

Eighteen Seychellois students, who recently made history by being the first from their country to graduate through UKZN with BA in Nursing (Advance Practice) degrees, were honoured at a ceremony held at the University of the Seychelles.

Dean and Head of UKZN’s School of Nursing and Public Health (SNPH), Professor Busi Ncama, congratulated the graduates for upgrading their qualifications through a transnational programme in the Seychelles. Previously candidates would have to travel to the host university for the full duration of training.

The Seychelles Ministry of Health together with the National Institute of Health and Social Sciences (NIHSS) organised a certificate presentation function in the Seychelles which formed part of the NIHSS’s annual graduation ceremony.

The ceremony was attended by a SNPH delegation led by Ncama and included Nursing Academic Leader, Professor Gugu Mchunu, and BN Programme Co-ordinator, Dr Jane Kerr, who were all hosted by the National Institute of Health and Social Studies of Seychelles.

Also in attendance were the Vice-President of the Seychelles, Mr Danny Faure; the Minister of Health, Mrs Mitcy Larue, and the Speaker in the National Assembly, Dr Patrick Herminie.

The project was conceived seven years ago through discussions between the Seychelles Ministry of Health and the UKZN Nursing discipline as part of its activities as a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Midwifery in Africa.

UKZN academics conducted a situational analysis of Nursing and Midwifery in the Seychelles in 2009-2010 to ascertain the needs of the country as well as which programmes would best suit the candidates.  The programme targeted three nursing streams: Advanced Midwifery and Neonatal Nursing; Critical Care and Trauma Nursing, and Community Health Nursing.

The project started in 2012 with a variety of Nursing academics participating in the teaching and learning activities of the programme. Students were taught using a blended approach of one-on-one contact sessions and E-Learning strategies.

Last year in June and July, the students stayed in Durban exploring the South African health care system and sharing experiences with other students in the same programme.

Ncama said the programme started with 20 students with one student yet to complete the course and another who dropped out. ‘This is a clear indication of the very high success rate of the programme.’

Mchunu said the programme had proved to be a huge achievement for both the Nursing discipline and for Seychelles as a country.  Added to this, the students were happy about the outcomes with several keen to pursue post graduate degrees through UKZN.

The project is financed by the Seychelles government.

Larue said the country was happy to have new holders of Bachelor’s Degrees in Nursing Advanced Practice in three areas of health service. ‘We have history makers being released into the world of practice today.’

Nombuso Dlamini