Bolgatanga: Mrs. Philomina Adjoa Nyarkoa Woolley, the Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) of Ghana, has announced the introduction of a new academic curricula for the training of nurses and midwives. The competency-based curricula, to be implemented for current first-year students in various nursing and midwifery training colleges across the country, will feature significant changes from the usual objective tests familiar to students.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mrs. Woolley explained that the new curricula will focus on teaching students content, skills, and attitude. For example, students will learn the knowledge required to dress a wound, the practical skills to perform the task, and the appropriate manner to communicate with patients. This announcement was made during her address to the staff and students of the Midwifery Training College in Bolgatanga, as part of a three-day working visit to health training institutions and selected healthcare facilities in the Upper East Region.
Mrs. Woolley highlighted that the curricula will include references after every course to encourage further reading, and will prioritize practical sections over theoretical ones. Students will be required to sit for six examinations covering areas such as mental health nursing, public health, surgery and surgical nursing, medicine, and medical nursing. She emphasized that the curricula are designed to meet international standards, ensuring that Ghanaian students are well-prepared for opportunities abroad, particularly in countries like the United Kingdom and the United States.
The new curricula is set to be launched before the end of 2025. Following the launch, the NMC plans to zone various colleges to ensure tutors fully understand and effectively impart the vision of the curricula to their students. Margaret Azusiyinne, Vice Principal of the Midwifery Training College, applauded the initiative, noting that it aligns with training methods used in the past and addresses perceptions of the current NMC examination as being less challenging.
During the first day of the tour, the Registrar and her team visited the Nursing Training College in Bolgatanga and met with Senior Nursing and Midwifery Managers of the Regional Hospital. They also proceeded to the Regentropfen College of Applied Sciences in the Bongo District. On the second day, they visited the Community Health Training College, the War Memorial Hospital, and the Clement Kubindiwo Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences in Navrongo, with plans to conclude the tour at the Nursing and Midwifery Training College in Zuarungu.