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April 2009
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Advanced Nursing now available
The Master of Science in Advanced Nursing (MScN), the latest addition to the University’s Faculty of Medical Sciences at Mt Hope, is the first accredited programme of its kind in that country. Set to launch in September 2009, the MScN will soon be equipping a new generation of nurses to assume leadership roles in the areas of nursing education, management, clinical specialties and other professional positions within the health care system. MSN graduates will develop an understanding of health care policy, organisation and financing, and, participate in the design and implementation of care in a variety of health care systems, and assume a leadership role in the management of health care resources. “Before this programme, advanced Nursing education at the postgraduate level almost did not exist in Trinidad and Tobago,” says Dr Meryl Price, Director of the UWI School of Advanced Nursing Education (SANE). She explained that, previously, local nurses who wanted to pursue an advanced nursing degree either had to go to Jamaica or migrate out of the Caribbean. The MScN is also available to professionals wanting greater knowledge of the field of Nursing. The programme is being offered full-time in modular format, to facilitate those who prefer to remain in practice while studying. Structured around the major components of theory, research and clinical, the MSN focuses on central concepts of leadership, critical thinking, decision making, evidence based practice and planned change. It eliminates the prolonged use of lecturing as the sole teaching method, by integrating a number of different forms of distance education, teleconferencing, Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI), mentoring and service-based learning. The UWI Medical Sciences Faculty plans to expose students to teaching from faculty in schools of nursing in the USA, Canada and UK, where SANE has established linkages with Michigan State University, College of Nursing, Mc Master University, School of Nursing, Sheffield University School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Virginia School of Nursing at Charlotteville, and University of California, LA School of Nursing. Since its establishment in 2004, SANE has launched two undergraduate degree programmes—the Bachelor of Science (BSc) Nursing in 2005 and the BSc Nursing (Oncology) in 2007—and has continued to position itself as a major hub of academic development and advancement for nursing and midwifery personnel in Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean region. SANE’s latest postgraduate offering now makes it possible for graduates of the BSc programmes to fulfill their career trajectory. APPLICATION PROCEDURE Online applications continue until July 2009. For application details, please visit http://sta.uwi.edu/postgrad.apply.asp. Entry requirements include a BSc in Nursing or an equivalent. Candidates with other qualifications will be considered if they have at least 10 years experience. Applicants who do not gain admission may reapply.
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The University of the West Indies (UWI), School of Advanced Nursing Education has introduced a postgraduate programme that will help to meet the Caribbean region’s need for high-quality health care, particularly in the field of Nursing.