The Vanuatu Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Vanuatu College of Nursing Education (VCNE), with support from the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), are continuing to work with a team of education experts from the WHO Collaborating Centre (WHO CC UTS) at the University of Technology Sydney, to develop and upgrade the national nursing curriculum for accreditation and implementation.
The Vanuatu MoH aims to strengthen nursing education to improve health outcomes and promote equitable access to affordable, quality health care as part of the Government National Sustainable Development Plan.
The team from the WHO CC UTS are working in close collaboration with staff from the VCNE as the primary provider of health care educational services in Vanuatu, MoH staff and other stakeholders to provide technical support and advice to facilitate the development and implementation of the both the Bachelor of Nursing (Conversion), currently being delivered, and the three year Bachelor of Nursing degree planned for implementation from 2021.
The Bachelor of Nursing (Conversion) course builds on a Diploma of Nursing qualification, and hopes to strengthen capacity and qualifications of the participants as a form of professional development for VCNE tutors and clinicians.
A total of fourteen participants (9 female, 5 male) who are a mixture of educators and clinicians, began the Bachelor of Nursing (Conversion) in March 2019 are over half way through their course completion requirements.
In-Country Activities
Team members from UTS WHO CC - Expert Curriculum Adviser Professor Jen Bichel-Findlay, Educational Support Adviser Ms Natalie Govind, and Project Manager Ms Amanda Neill - spent time in Port Vila from 4th to 10th August 2019.
There were various successful outcomes from this week of engagement outlined as follows.
Participants in the BN (Conversion) program taking place at VCNE, with A/Professor Jen Bichel-Findlay from WHO CC UTS.
Teaching and Learning
The fourteen students were introduced to the first teaching block of the component Quality, Safety and Clinical Leadership that will be followed by a further four days in September. Day One highlighted the importance of quality and safety in the current healthcare environment, and provided students with the foundational knowledge around many elements of quality and terminology used when describing this concept. The WHO definition of quality was used and applied to the Vanuatu healthcare system.
Teaching and learning activities for the Quality, Safety and Clinical Leadership component of the BN (Conversion) program.
Day Two outlined how quality is measured and the importance of continuous measurement centring on two common perspectives – clinical indicators and clinical audit. The NSW Health Essentials of Care program was used as the framework for conducting a clinical audit to assist students in their second assessment activity.
The final day of the first teaching block assisted students in discovering positive leadership in the clinical environment and unpacked the attributes of a clinical leader. The students were able to identify many clinical leaders and how their behaviours led nurses to follow their strategic objectives. The first assessment task involves the students completing a leadership inventory and using reflection to identify leadership strengths and areas for improvement.
Students were able to identify the importance of establishing standards and competencies to facilitate a safe environment for patients and staff. Challenges in achieving this were discussed, however students were positive in their desire to deliver safe and effective care. The students established groups for the final assessment task very quickly being very supportive of each other’s planning steps in preparation for the clinical audit. A round of singing and prayer concluded the third day.
The students look forward to the final teaching block taking place in September that will introduce them to the concepts of organisational change, organisational culture, and case studies around quality improvement.
Members of the WHO CC UTS team were taken on a site visit to Vila Central Hospital (VCH) by Mr Roger Jelpan (A/Nursing Services Manager) that provided an opportunity for enhanced understanding.
Amanda Neill (WHO CC UTS) with Mr John Tasserei (VCH) and Ms Rebecca Iaken (Vanuatu MoH).
Amanda Neill undertook data collection for project monitoring and evaluation (M&E) meeting with and interviewing a variety of key stakeholders. These included representatives from the MoH (Mrs Bertha Tarileo - Principal Nursing Officer, Mr Sam Posikai - A/Director General, Mrs Leipakoa Matariki - Manager, Human Resources Division), VCNE (Ms Evelyne Emile - Principal Nurse Educator, Mr Viran Tovu - Chair, VCNE Board, staff and students), Vanuatu Qualifications Authority (Mr Sam Samuels – Quality Assurance Officer), and clinical staff from VCH. When meeting with Mr Scott Monteiro (Team Leader) and Mr Nish Vivekananthan (Procurement Manager and PFM Adviser) from the Vanuatu Health Resource Mechanism (VHRM), issues that may potentially impact sustainability and success of the project were discussed.
This visit was the fifth of a series of in-country visits planned in 2019 for provision of technical support by the WHO CC UTS Team to strengthen the quality of nursing education in Vanuatu.