344 Specialised nurses, midwives inducted into college

The Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives (GCNM) has inducted 344 specialised nurses and midwives into its fold.

They comprise 53 associate members and 291 members.

They were inducted at the Ninth Annual General Meeting and Fifth Seminar of the GCNM at Gomoa Fetteh in the Central Region yesterday.

The associate members comprised 21 paediatric nurses, six emergency nurses, 19 neonatal nurses, two nephrology nurses, one orthopaedic nurse and three infectious diseases nurses.

The members include 66 paediatric nurse specialists, 23 emergency nurse specialists, 16 oncology nurse specialists, 12 haematology nurse specialists, 12 palliative nurse specialists and 17 neonatal nurse specialists.

The rest were nine neuroscience nurse specialists, three addictions nurse specialists, three child and adolescent mental health nurse specialists, five community mental health rehabilitation nurse specialists and 10 advanced midwifery specialists.

Necessity

The Dean of the School of Nursing and Midwifery of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Prof. Veronica Dzomeku, said specialisation in nursing and midwifery was no longer a luxury but a necessity.  

“The days when a general nursing or midwifery degree was sufficient for an entire career are behind us. Today, the complexity of patient care requires specialised knowledge and skills that go beyond basic training,” she said.

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The dean said there was also the need to embrace technological integration, adding that specialisation in areas such as telehealth, informatics and AI-driven care was crucial in an increasingly digital healthcare environment. 

Also, Prof. Dzomeku said with globalisation of health challenges, specialisation in health and epidemiology was essential, and that nurses and midwives with expertise in those areas could address the health needs of diverse populations, manage infectious disease outbreaks and contribute to global health initiatives. 

Standards

The Director of Technical Coordination at the Ministry of Health, Dr Hafiz Adam, also said that specialisation allowed for the development of expertise in specific areas such as in-hospital practitioners to provide higher quality care, improve patient outcomes and address the unique needs of diverse populations.

He said it also fostered professional growth, enhanced job satisfaction and elevated the overall standards of the healthcare system.

“As we look into the future, we must embrace key strategies to ensure that nursing and midwifery can effectively adapt to changing healthcare landscape,” the director said.

On CPD, he said the government would continue to explore avenues to provide scholarship and sponsorship for nurses and midwives who would be interested in building the country. 

Roll-out of programmes

The Rector of the GCNM, Hannah O. Acquah, said from a humble beginning, with eight membership programmes in 2015, the college had now rolled out six associate membership, 20 membership and six fellowship programmes in the just-ended academic year.

The college, she said, had a vibrant continuous professional development (CPD) unit that coordinated and supported the roll-out of faculty-specific and mandatory CPDs.

The President of the GCNM, Prof. Victoria Bam, said the programmes the inductees were taken through would enhance their capacity significantly to achieve the health sector goals of the country.

For his part, the Chairman of the Governing Council of the GCNM, Kwabena Abankwah-Yeboah, commended them for their hard work and commitment.