By Edwin Beyan | Friends of Liberia-Liberia Health Team Leader
Friends of Liberia-Liberia Health Team
Improving Nursing and Midwifery Education in Liberia
The FOL-Liberia Health Team (FOL-LHT) conducted a needs assessment in September 2020. The overarching goal was to identify what instructional faculty and practicing nurses believed could improve their teaching and clinical skills, respectively. The needs assessment followed plans for the continuing professional development (CPD) workshops and budgetary allocations that were supported by the Friends of Liberia-USA and GlobalGiving.
Target Audiences: Nursing Faculty & Practicing Nurses/Midwives
We targeted 20 nursing/midwifery faculty from 20 nursing/midwifery training institutes (TIs) accredited by the Liberian Board for Nursing and Midwifery (LBNM) plus one participant from the LBNM who served as a participant and observer for the LBNM. We also targeted 20 practicing nurses/midwives from major hospitals in Liberia plus one representative from the Liberian Nurses’ Association (LNA) who served as participant and observer for the LNA. We gave priority to hospitals in rural Liberia because they have limited access to CPD workshops.
Situation Analysis of the Needs Assessment
The COVID-19 which was reported on December 19, 2019, prompted the FOL-LHT to conduct an online needs assessment. As a token of appreciation, participants were informed in the valid consent that they would be given a five-dollar scratch of their choice of GSM company upon completion of the needs assessment. The FOL-LHT made a constant reminder to participants during the needs assessment. We received 100% of the participant's questionnaires. Strategies to ensure full participation in the questionnaires included a five-dollar scratch card to a GSM company of their choice after completion of the survey and several email messages as reminders from the FOL-LHT were sent to the participants. Through the online needs assessment, facilitators identified five topical areas for the nursing/midwifery and practicing nurses/midwives, respectively.
Details of Contents of the Workshop Activities
For the Instructional Faculty
The five top priority areas selected by the participants included (a)curriculum design and development, (b)writing research proposal, (c) test items analysis/banking, (d) evaluating educational programs, and (e)writing objectives using the backward design. We targeted 20 participants from accredited nursing/midwifery TIs across Liberia plus one participant from the LBNM who was both participant and observer. Three TIs could not send participants because these institutions were not accredited by the LBNM.
For the Practicing Nurses/Midwives
The five priority areas selected by the participants included (a) documentation, (b) nursing process especially for the critical patients, (c) customers service, (d) evidence-based clinical guidelines, and (e) performing emergency procedures. As with the instructional faculty, we targeted 20 practicing nurses/midwives plus one participant from the Liberian Nurses’ Association who was to serve as participant and observer. However, only 17 participants turned out from major hospitals from across Liberia. It is not known why the other four participants did not turn out.
Outcomes of the Workshop
Under the guidance of FOL-LHT expert nurse-educators and supported by FOL-US and GlobalGiving, the workshop contributed to the enhancement of competencies and evidence-based instructions of nursing/midwifery faculty and clinical skills of nurses/midwives who participated in the workshop. This conclusion was based on post-workshop evaluations. Another outcome of the workshop was that participants were prepared as trainers to conduct similar workshops at their various institutions. The FOL-LHT has received information that participants from two major hospitals and one major nursing/midwifery training school have conducted workshops at their respective institutions using resources from the FOL-LHT-led CPD. Other participants shared their training resources on colleagues’ flash drives and computers.
Next Planning Strategies
The current COVID-19 might have long-lasting impact on the future of nursing/midwifery educators’ instructional skills and practicing nurses’ and midwives’ clinical skills if plans are not made to fill in the gaps caused by the pandemic. One way to fill in the gap is continuing professional development. In that regard, the FOL-LHT has planned to design a future one-week workshop arranged for both faculty and clinicians.
Future Plans
The Liberian Health Team is working now to ready for a week-long workshop in January 2022. This workshop will include both faculty and clinicians. The plan is to include a day of overlap so the two groups can get to know each other and support each other in their work. Fundraising for the January 2022 workshop will being in October 2021 when a new project will be listed on GlobalGiving.
We want to thank all of our supporters for helping us reach our goal.
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