Issues around the role of midwives and nurses in providing care and support will take centre stage at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) next week on Tuesday, 28 May 2024. This is when the Department of Nursing within the University’s Faculty of Health Sciences celebrates the 2024 International Day of the Midwife and International Nurses Day. The event, which will be held via zoom, will be co-hosted with three universities from U21 Health Sciences Group, Nursing and Midwifery Discipline Group.
Students from UJ and the three U21 universities will make presentations under the topic, Nurses and Midwives of the Future: what excites you about the road ahead and contribution you can play towards a sustainable world? Two nursing students from UJ, Amishka Singh, who is in fourth year of her undergraduate studies, and Boitumelo Ditshwane, a doctoral student, will represent the University. Pavneer Kaur from Hongkong University, Benjamin Velasquez from Chile and Alijawharah Alsudayri and Khalida Mobark from the University of Birmingham will also make presentations.
Earlier on 12 May 2024, the UJ Department of Health joined the global community in celebrating International Nurses Day. Held under the theme: Our Nurses, Our Future, the day is dedicated to encouraging robust conversation to address the global health challenges and good health for all. The World Health Organization notes that midwives perform a vital service in providing care and support to women and their families while pregnant, throughout labour and during the period after a baby’s birth. International Nurses Day celebrates the role that nurses play. The day also marks the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birthday.
UJ shaping the future of nursing
The Department of Nursing is one of the eleven (11) departments within the Faculty of Health Sciences. The department has nineteen (19) permanent academic staff members; two (2) temporary lecturers, three (3) support staff and one (student assistant). The department offers evidence-based programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, including doctoral qualifications. The postgraduate programmes are offered within the eight (8) specialty areas, namely: critical care nursing adult, midwifery, primary care nursing, occupational health, mental health, community health, health services management and nursing education.
The UJ Faculty of Health Sciences is one of the first within the higher education sector in Gauteng to rollout six new postgraduate diplomas; namely, Critical Care Nursing Adult; Midwifery; Primary Care Nursing; Occupational Health Nursing; Nursing Education and Health Services Management. Further to this, the Department of Nursing is one of the first in Gauteng to graduate nursing students in scarcity programmes. Thirty-six midwife specialists and 10 nursing education specialists graduated in the newly regulated Postgraduate Diploma Nursing Programmes.
Graduates from the Department of Nursing are future-orientated and ready to deal with the health challenges of the 21st century at national and international level, and to work towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals. Professor Sehaam Khan, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic is pleased with the progress that the Department of Nursing has made: “As the then Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at UJ, I successfully led the strategic implementation of six postgraduate diplomas in nursing. The collaboration between the Department of Nursing, the South African Nursing Council (SANC), and various stakeholders at UJ was critical to this success. Together, we ensured a seamless transition from legacy qualifications and achieved significant student enrolment in the newly curriculated postgraduate programs. It was an honour to be part of this process and to work with such dedicated staff to ensure our success.”
