Fiji National University’s School of Nursing academics Visit UTS

The Head of School, Dharmendra Naidu and the Head of Department, Keshni Singh from the School of Nursing (SoN) at the Fiji National University (FNU) were welcomed by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) on the 30^th of October 2023 to discuss important areas of development and education in nursing and midwifery. The FNU academics had a 3-day visit with the UTS Nursing and Midwifery academics where they were introduced to the World Health Organisation Collaboration Centre (WHOCC) at UTS and had the opportunity to review the memorandum of understanding between FNU and UTS. 

The duo from the FNU were also welcomed and escorted to the third-year Bachelor of Midwifery Student Conference by Dr Elizabeth Brogan and had an opportunity to meet Professor Jennifer Fenwick (Head of Discipline – UTS), Professor Deborah Fox and Dr Heike Roth to have an overview of the Bachelor of Midwifery (BMid) Program at UTS. The Head OF school Nursing and Midwifery Professor Kathleen Baird and Professor Angela Dawson Associate Dean (Research) of the Faculty of Health at the UTS also met with the FNU academics and hosted them to a morning tea which also served as a networking opportunity with the nursing and midwifery academic staff. The visitors also had an overview of the Post Graduate Nursing Program at UTS with the Post Graduate Course Director Dr Carmen Axisa and Tran De Linh. The FNU academics also met with the Bachelor of Nursing Course Director Sonia Matiuk.

On the final day of the visit, the academics met with the Course Director for the Post Graduate Midwifery Program at UTS, Lorretta Musgrove for the course overview. The FNU visitors attended the Early Career Academic Network (ECAN) steering committee meeting followed by a visit to the Dean of Faculty of Health (UTS) Professor Debra Anderson. They concluded their UTS visit on the 1^st of November with a tour of the clinical skills labs and witnessed the possibilities of learning through a high-fidelity mannikin simulator.

Mr Dharmendra Naidu extended his appreciation and that of Dr Wiiliam May (FNU- Dean of College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences) and deemed the visit as an important step into capacity building for FNU School of Nursing (SoN) academics in establishing nursing specialty courses. Research support with student supervision and Early Career Academic staff capacity building with higher degree studies were also discussed between FNU and UTS nursing and midwifery academics. The FNU SoN also sought the support of UTS for onsite teaching, delivery of postgraduate nursing programs, external examiners and technical expertise for the Master of Mental Health and the Master of Nursing Leadership and Management programs. The FNU academics also discussed the possibility of engagement and funding for staff and student exchange programs with UTS.  The nursing academics from FNU also requested support from WHOCC at UTS in acquiring a high-fidelity simulator for the SoN.

The FNU academics thanked Professor Diane Brown for facilitating the visit and for contributing to nursing development in Fiji for the last 20 years. They also extended their appreciation to UTS nursing and midwifery academics who supported their visit and provided a platform to discuss nursing development while understanding and acknowledging the differences in geographical and healthcare settings between Fiji and Australia.