Phase out nursing certificate courses - experts

First Lady Janet Museveni (C) chats with Prof Kweku Bentil (R) during the regional alumni conference for midwives and nurses in Kampala yesterday. Looking on is the Dean of the Aga Khan University School of Nursing and Midwifery, Prof Yasmin Amarsi (L). PHOTO BY DOMINIC BUKENYA

What you need to know:

Recommendation. Experts say minimum qualifications for one to be a nurse should be a diploma and not a certificate.

KAMPALA.

Experts have asked governments in the East African region to phase out certificate programmes in nursing and midwifery certificate programmes as a way of ensuring quality nursing profession.

The experts recommend that the minimum qualifications for one to be a nurse should be a diploma and not a certificate like is the case.

Dr Yasmin Amarsi, the Dean of School of Nursing and Midwifery at the Aga Khan University noted that 80 per cent of the nurses in the region are currently certificate holders.

Dr Amarsi, who was giving a key -note address on the recommendations to the East African Community (EAC) secretariat for the harmonisation of the nursing education practice, said at a certificate level, the nurses are not competent enough to give quality healthcare.

“If a doctor cannot get a certificate and be called a doctor, why should it be the same for nurses and midwives?” Dr Amarsi told the university’s regional alumni conference for the School of Nursing and Midwifery yesterday.

“At certificate level, these nurses are not competent enough to give quality healthcare yet they need current knowledge to administer it,” she explained.

The First Lady concurred with Dr Amarsi saying that if the appeal is heeded, nurses in Uganda will be able to work in other East African countries without any hindrance.

“Nurses and midwives make a large section of the healthcare system and they are the first point of contact. In Uganda, enrolled nurses and midwives head most of the health centre IIs found at the parish level.”

“Harmonisation will therefore allow for mobility so that nurses do not have to undergo a vigorous and long process of registering or receiving extra qualifications to work in another country,” Ms Museveni said.

For this to be achieved, Dr Amarsi said, a central college of nursing and midwifery is needed to harmonise the curriculum for the profession.

The appeal is part of several recommendations by the university to the EAC regarding nurses and midwives within the region.

Other recommendations included having a nursing representative at the EAC secretariat, adopting a directorate of nursing and midwifery at the health ministries in the different countries and a nursing and midwifery council in every country.

“During a situational analysis, we found out that East African countries have different curricula, different job descriptions and different working environments for nurses in addition to poor renumeration, unsafe working environment and their non-involvement in policy making. This is so different from what you see internationally where countries invest in higher and continuous education for the nurses. This is what we want to see here as well,” Dr Amarsi added.

Nurses & Midwives Act 1996

Clause 19. Eligibility for registration or enrollment.
A person holding any of the following minimum qualifications shall be eligible for registration or enrollment in the appropriate category to which the qualifications relate—
A degree of Bachelor of Science in nursing recognised by the council;

A certificate or diploma in nursing issued by the council;
A person who produces evidence satisfactory to the council that he or she has been registered or enrolled as a nurse or midwife in any other country in which there is a law for registration or enrollment of nurses and midwives and in respect of which country the council is satisfied that the standard of training and examination is not inferior to the standard set by the council;

A nursing or midwifery qualification recognised by the council under Section 20.