Review of nursing and midwifery programmes in Africa

Abstract

Background: This article describes an action research project to develop and test a process of Internal and external review of health professionals' education in Africa, with special reference to nursing. Objectives: The objectives were to develop and validate the process and instrument used to establish the current benchmark of nursing education in Africa. This article reports only on the internal and external evaluation of some nursing programmes in Africa. Settings and participants: The setting was the African Region of the World Health Organization, involving different nursing schools in the different cycles of the process. Methods: Guidelines for internal and external review of nursing schools and programmes were drafted, tested and refined through a process of consultation, workshops, testing and amending. The last test involved the internal review of five African nursing schools and the external review of four of these. Results: The external reviews led to seven changes being made to the process and to the instrument to enhance clarity and quality of information gathered. The external reviewers evaluated the process concluding that both the schools and individuals benefited from their involvement in the process. Conclusions: Having processes and structures in place to make the review of health professional education programmes possible should enhance regional benchmarking and local quality improvement. © Unisa Press.