The WHO Collaborating Centre (WHO CC UTS) continues to work closely with staff from the Vanuatu College of Nursing Education (VCNE) and other stakeholders to develop and upgrade the national nursing curriculum for accreditation and implementation. Technical support and advice is being provided by the WHO CC UTS through the Vanuatu Ministry of Health (MoH) with support from the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
Participants at the Clinical Learning and Teaching workshop taking place at the Northern Provincial Hospital, Luganville, Sanma Province, Vanuatu, with A/Professor Lin Lock and Ms Lisa Townsend from WHO CC UTS.
In addition to stakeholder meetings in Port Vila and monitoring and evaluation activities, this recent in-country visit focussed on preparation and delivery of a workshop at the Northern Provincial Hospital (NPH) in Luganville, Espiritu Santo in Sanma Province - the second largest hospital in the country.
Key stakeholders had previously identified the need for Vanuatu nurses to have more training in the area of clinical teaching and learning to improve confidence and competence in providing clinical supervision to staff and students in their health services. Lisa Townsend and Lin Lock travelled to NPH to deliver a two day workshop for 20 senior nurses from 5 of the more remote provinces in Vanuatu. Nurses were encouraged to review their roles and responsibilities or the development of less experienced and/or less skilled colleagues and reflect on their current practices for clinical learning, assessment and feedback, managing challenging situations, and establish personal learning goals for their ongoing development. The use of a variety of strategies including group work, role play and class discussions meant that participants were actively involved in all sessions and the workshop was rated very positively overall.
Clinical Teaching and Learning Workshop participants with Ms Lisa Townsend
This provided a unique opportunity to gain insight into the needs, issues and challenges faced by health care providers in provincial Vanuatu. It is hoped that the collaborative relationships established during this work will benefit the nursing profession and the people of Vanuatu.