By James Wakahiu
Ten nurses have graduated in the first cohort of training in a partnership between Thika-based Mount Kenya University (MKU) and the Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust of Britain.
Last year, MKU and the Trust partnered to develop an International Junior Nurse Fellowship (IJNF) in response to the Nursing Now Challenge. The fellowship is a 12-month programme that is being delivered virtually, with 10 early career nurses (in Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust of UK) and 10 senior student nurses at MKU.
The fellowship was launched virtually in July 2021, by the programme leads Elizabeth Ndung’u of MKU and Debbie Cromack of the Bradford Trust. It targets to benefit students in research skills, academic writing competency and leadership skills.
The pioneer class of students graduated on Monday, 5th September.
“The last twelve months have seen our learners engage in modules around the self as a leader, managing organizational change/resilience, facilitating learning in others, the research process and writing for publication. The students shared their experiences with the Bradford District Care Foundation Trust cohort and learnt from each other,” said Ms Ndung’u and Ms Cromack during the graduation ceremony.
“Together via a virtual platform we have shared our differences, discussed our similarities and above all embraced our passion for the nursing profession,” said Cromack, who is also Learning, Education and Nursing Development Manager at the Trust.
“We have witnessed our learners grow in confidence over the fellowship period and have watched as they have flourished with their newly acquired toolkit of knowledge. A key focal point of this fellowship is the identification of a research topic and subsequent development of a qualitative research proposal,” added Ndung’u, a Nurse Educator and a Researcher.
The two leaders called on both MKU and the Trust to continue supporting the learners post-fellowship to enable them to take forward their proposals to implementation stage and onward to potential academic journal submission.
“Our alumni will continue to enable our fellows access to ongoing mentorship and continued professional development via the global Nursing Now portal,” said Cromack.
In 2018/2019, the German Academic Exchange Service, DAAD selected Mount Kenya University (MKU) to offer graduate Scholarships in the field of Master of Science Nursing (Medical Surgical Nursing) and Master of Public Health (Epidemiology & Disease Control).
This followed a thorough vetting of applications by an independent international committee which shortlisted 15 proposals out of 88 submitted by various Universities and institutions in the Eastern African region.
The annual scholarships were awarded to students across the region over a four year period (2019-2022) and caters for: Tuition fees, Research allowance, Monthly stipend, Travel allowance, Health insurance where applicable and Possibility of a study visit of up to 6 months to Germany within the period of the Scholarship.
The first group of scholarship holders was admitted in 2019 and are now ready to proceed to the field for data collection having successfully completed their coursework and developed their research proposals. The cohort admitted in 2020 are developing their proposals.
These scholarships will go a long way in ensuring timely completion of students which is most of the times hampered by lack of funds. It will also enhance the commitment of the University to offer competitive quality postgraduate programmes. Dr. Samuel Karenga, Director, Graduate Studies said.
The third cohort is expected in September 2021. This intake will have the highest number of students ever since the start of the scholarships. In addition to the 8 awarded scholarships for 2021, the eighteen reserve candidates were also awarded the scholarships bringing the total number of awarded scholarships to 26. In the past intake years, a reserve candidate would benefit for a scholarship if the awarded scholarship holder failed to take up the opportunity.
The scholarships beneficiaries are from Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi & Ethiopia.
“These scholarships have attracted very many applicants annually since 2019. As a matter of fact, Mount Kenya University beat other Universities in the number of applications received for this year’s intake 2021, which is a testament of the quality graduate programmes offered. We hope to apply for more scholarships in other disciplines when a call for applications is made later this year,” added Dr. Karenga
