York University, Canada and University of Health and Allied Sciences held a webinar, April 28, on “Building a strong resilient health system in Ghana.” Discussions centred around York University's Advancing Scholarship and Capacity for Emerging Nursing Doctorates programme (ASCEND). In an agreement between the two universities, six faculty members of the School of Nursing and Midwifery (SONAM) at UHAS, will pursue doctorate degrees in the fields of nursing and midwifery at York University over a period of seven years under the programme.
The panel discussion, moderated by Ms. Julie Hard, Manager of International Relations, featured from UHAS: Mrs. Irene Attachie and Mr. Japiong Milipaak, the first two candidates enrolled in the programme; Vice Chancellor Professor John Gyapong; Professor Ernestina Donkor, Dean of SONAM; Dr. Robert Alhassan, Dean of International Programmes interacting with the York University team, which included Professor Paul McDonald, Dean of the Faculty of Health; Dr. Jacqueline Choiniere, Graduate Program Director, Faculty of Health, School of Nursing; Professor Amir Asif, Vice-President of Research and Innovation.
During the discussion, Professor Gyapong underscored the importance and benefits of the programme to the partnering institutions, stressing, “The amount of knowledge sharing and research collaborations already going on among students is very exciting” and that the programme would ensure “the retention of trained faculty” who would benefit from the Canadian experience through “knowledge sharing which is not one-sided.”
Professor Donkor accentuated the overall effect of the programme on the health delivery system and training in Ghana. She said, “More nurses will benefit from increased numbers of well trained nurses at a higher level.” She also stressed that the added effect would be that “more nurses will be prepared for taking up leadership positions in health, education and other sectors.”
Dr. Choiniere said the Covid-19 pandemic “has underscored the fact that we are all in this together,” hence the need to build capacity of faculty who train nurses in Ghana, adding that the faculty at York are also learning more about the similarities and differences between health systems of Ghana and Canada.
Professor McDonald explained that the programme needs additional funding to help cover students’ travel and other expenses while they acquire the Canadian experience. Prof. Donkor said this would go a long way to enrich the practical knowledge being sought by the PhD candidates.
Mrs. Attachie praised the initiative as a gift to her and her family, considering the cost involved in obtaining a terminal degree. The other beneficiary, Mr. Japiong, said his PhD would have “an impact on the training of the next generation of nurses, using evidence-based practice to enhance producing capable nurses.”
Dr. Robert Kaba Alhassan highlighted the fact that the current gap in evidence-based nursing, and nurses practicing without the necessary scientific backing, are some of the conditions that make it necessary for more nurses to acquire further training, which UHAS offers; however, the University has to ensure that more faculty have terminal degrees in order to comply with national policy.
Ms. Julie Hard called for a renewed and sustained sense of commitment for the overall success of the programme.
Established in 1959, York University is the third largest research institution in Canada. On the other hand, University of Health and Allied Sciences, which will be 10 years old next year, is the only university in Ghana solely focused on training health professionals.
