Developments in emergency nursing education in Ghana

Abstract

Providing effective emergency nursing is challenging in low- to middle-income countries because of limited resources and an inadequate infrastructure. The role of the emergency nurse is growing throughout sub-Saharan Africa and this will help decrease the burden of acute illness and trauma on both the people and the economies in the area. However, there is a gap in education for emergency nurses in this part of the world which needs to be addressed. This article describes an emergency nursing degree programme in Ghana which was developed in collaboration with a university in the United States and one in Ghana. It also outlines the development and content of the programme and discusses its success and challenges.

Capacity building in low- and middle-income countries

“…In this example, the nurse educator in the fi rst cohort helped deliver the program to the second cohort to eventually take on formal teaching and preceptor roles. 21 Identifying future educators can sometimes be time-consuming; either model has proven effective.…”

“…47 Low-fi delity simulation has been utilized in intensive care and emergency nursing training programs in resource-limited settings to optimize and equalize all participants' experiences. 21 High-fi delity simulation for nursing training is just beginning to emerge in work being done in resource-limited settings. 48…”

“…54 A 12-month emergency nursing training utilized formative and summative participant evaluations to ensure that teaching objectives and program goals were met. 21 Another 12-month program provided training in Bangladesh for nurses across various fi elds and performed monthly evaluation of nurse competencies, comparing a pretest to posttest and conducting hands-on physical assessment in a skills lab. 47 The Network for Improving Critical Care Systems and Training (NICST)'s critical care nursing program in Sri Lanka and the TEAM training in Haiti both went beyond a pre-and post-multiple-choice questionnaire and obtained a postcourse participant feedback questionnaire.…”

“…After implementing a 3-month ICU nursing training program in a resource-limited setting, researchers utilized pre- and postcourse knowledge-based examinations and participant self-assessments evaluating confidence in ICU skills 54. A 12-month emergency nursing training utilized formative and summative participant evaluations to ensure that teaching objectives and program goals were met 21. Another 12-month program provided training in Bangladesh for nurses across various fields and performed monthly evaluation of nurse competencies, comparing a pretest to posttest and conducting hands-on physical assessment in a skills lab 47…”

“…Still, midway through the emergency training program, they selected three nurses who showed exemplary leadership, interest, and academic excellence to become future educators. In this example, the nurse educator in the first cohort helped deliver the program to the second cohort to eventually take on formal teaching and preceptor roles 21. Identifying future educators can sometimes be time-consuming; either model has proven effective.…”