Training nurses
More than 85% of Kenya’s 20,000 nurses are trained at certificate level but do not have their registered nurses’ diploma. This leaves them inadequately qualified to treat major diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria.
Classroom-based training for the registered nurses’ diploma has been limited, allowing only 100 of the 20,000 nurses to qualify each year. This has left Kenya with just one registered nurse per 27,000 people.
To speed the process, AMREF and the Nursing Council of Kenya (NCK) have shifted the emphasis from traditional classroom based teaching to ‘paper-based’ distance learning and ‘eLearning’.
In partnership with the Kenyan Ministry of Health, Accenture (a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company), the Kenya Medical Training Colleges, and several private and faith-based nursing schools, AMREF and NCK are:
- Using eLearning to register nearly 20,000 Kenyan nurses by 2011
- Training AMREF and NCK staff to run and monitor the eLearning program
- Advocating for the eLearning program to be replicated in other African countries
AMREF, NCK, and Accenture have developed four computer-based training modules that are delivered through more than 100 eLearning centers – reaching nurses in the most remote areas of Kenya. Twenty-five nursing schools are also taking part in the program. To date, more than 4,500 nurses have enrolled in the program, using both print and eLearning modules.
Unlike traditional training, the eLearning program is flexible and enables students to learn anytime and anywhere without needing to stop working while they upgrade their skills.
AMREF staff and local partners are fully trained to manage and further expand the program regionally. AMREF will use the program as a model for other African countries struggling with critical nursing shortages.
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