The evolution of nursing education in a postindependence context - Ghana from 1957 to 1970

Abstract

Development of nursing education in Ghana between 1957 and 1970 is characterized by dynamic change and growth. Published manuscripts, personal interviews, and letters were used to analyze evolution of nursing education during this period. Following independence in 1957, developments in nursing education continued to be strongly influenced by external organizations and their designated experts. Policies, such as the local training of nurses and Africanization, provided impetus for nurses to further their education to assume senior positions in nursing education and administration. Emphasis on training nurses to work in a hospital-based curative health system, which had been the legacy of colonialism, gradually shifted to a broad-based education that prepared nurses to work in a variety of settings. Changes in nursing education occurred within an economic climate that presented ongoing impediments, yet the vision of the first generation of Ghanaian nurse leaders facilitated the tremendous progress seen during this period.