The work/study programme for nurses and midwives at Aga Khan University School of Nursing and Midwifery (AKU-SONAM) is a unique concept in East Africa. This study explored whether nursing and midwifery students undergoing a work-study programme at AKU-SONAM felt their education was underpinned by an adult education philosophy. A semi-structured questionnaire designed specifically for this study based on the Knowles’ (1980) ‘Principles of Adult Education’ was administered to 96 students who completed their programmes in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Our paper reports on both the positive aspects of students’ experiences in this work-study programme, including the improvement of critical thinking skills and the direct transfer of classroom learning to clinical practice, along with negative impacts related to a poor work/life balance. Despite challenges related to quality and delivery highlighted in studies involving nursing and midwifery education in Africa, the findings of our study seem to show a positive experience in addressing the needs of the majority of the participants, as well as in meeting the objectives of the programme. We conclude that understanding the benefits and challenges faced by students will help to ensure the appropriate teaching and learning approaches. Keywords: Work/study programme, Uganda, Nurses and midwives evaluation, Upskilling, Nursing and midwifery educationHow to cite this article:Kyakuwaire, H., Kirikumwino, A., Nabossa, J. & Edwards, G.A. 2020. Evaluating a work/study programme for Nurses and Midwives at Aga Khan University, Uganda. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in the South. 4(2): 63-79. https://doi.org/10.36615/sotls.v4i2.129.This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Worldwide, almost half of all under-five child deaths annually are among neonates in the first month of life; three-quarters (75%) of all newborn deaths occur in the first week of life and LBW is among the main cause of these deaths.1 The majority of these deaths occur in Sub Saharan Africa, where the number of neonatal deaths in 2015 was 917,630.2 Uganda is a land-locked country in Sub Saharan Africa bordering Lake Victoria, the second-largest lake in the world. Around 22% of the Ugandan population are women of reproductive age and the teenage pregnancy rate is currently reported as 25% with the most recent total fertility rate (TFR) documented as 5.9. By 2030, the population in Uganda is projected to rise dramatically by 74%, or by up to 63.4 million people, adding a real burden to the already scarce health resources.3
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