Public-private nurse training

Posted on 17 March 2015

Mediclinic Southern Africa hosted top American foetal monitoring specialist, Professor Nancy Powell, at their Learning Centre in Cape Town on 16 and 17 March 2015. The aim of the workshop was to upskill public and private sector nurses towards reducing foetal or baby mortality and improving maternal health.

As there’s a huge shortage of healthcare professionals not only in South Africa, but also globally, Mediclinic Southern Africa has taken the step to become a registered tertiary education institution. Throughout their six learning centres nationally, they train more than 1 000 nursing practitioners annually. This year Mediclinic’s clinical department recognised a need to train nurses on continuous cardiocography (CTG), which is a form of electronic foetal monitoring and assessment during labour to identify babies who are at risk and in need of intervention. The Western Cape Department of Health also identified a need for this training, so Mediclinic offered to accommodate their staff at the workshop.

Professor Powell is a registered nurse with extensive experience, specialising in women’s health, professional issues and preparation for in-patient obstetrics certification. ‘I’ve had a relationship with Mediclinic for six years and this year I’m teaching a class for the midwives on CTG. I came down to talk about some of the newer research in foetal monitoring and it really ties in well with the Millennium Development Goal* of reducing foetal and maternal fatalities,’ she says. ‘I developed a one-day course for the midwives so they can take it back to their hospitals and share it with their peers. The second day is an instructor-trainer programme that talks about the challenges of teaching a class and strategies to manage those challenges. In addition, I usually bring about 18 students with me – they get to spend a day in a Mediclinic hospital while I teach a class,’ she explains.

‘This is the first workshop of its kind and we hope that it’s a model we can take forward,’ says Avril Stroh, Mediclinic Southern Africa’s general manager of training and development. ‘We trust that not only will the workshop develop knowledge and skills which can be rolled out further, but is also the beginning of a culture of collaboration between different parties.’

This initiative is just one of many that Mediclinic has instituted to improve safe and quality clinical care.

∗ The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight international development goals that were established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration.

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