50 years of serving humanity

Nursing lies at the heart of an effective health system and for half a century Stellenbosch University (SU) has been contributing to the health of the nation by producing sought-after nursing staff.

To celebrate their 50^th anniversary, the SU’s Division of Nursing hosted a gala dinner at the Wallenberg Research Centre at STIAS in Stellenbosch on Thursday, 15 August 2013, to coincide with a national business meeting of the Forum of University Nursing Departments of South Africa (FUNDISA).

In his address, Prof Russel Botman, SU Rector and Vice-Chancellor, quoted from the National Department of Health’s Strategic Plan for Nursing that “nurses are the engine of an effective health system and the country’s healthcare system is predominately nurse-based.” Botman indicated that it is clear that institutions responsible for the education and training of nurses have to maintain and promote a high standard and quality of nursing and midwifery. “We remain committed to meeting the needs of the country, and this includes alleviating the national shortage of professional nurses and nurse specialists. We want to help develop and grow the science of nursing and midwifery to ensure the best patient care,” he said.

He said it is in the University’s DNA to serve humanity, as portrayed by its HOPE Project, of which the Ukwanda Rural Clinical School – an initiative to train doctors and other health professionals in rural settings and also recruit more students from rural areas – is a prime example.

The Division of Nursing had humble beginnings. It started out in 1963 with 10 undergraduate nursing students at the then medical school based at the Karl Bremer Hospital, but it soon grew into a successful training and research division, maintaining an excellent throughput rate of approximately 85%. 

Delivering the keynote address at the event, Prof Hester Klopper, CEO of FUNDISA, said that SU’s undergraduate programme and SU students have always been considered to be in high demand, with nurses standing out in terms of competence, integrity and of being ethically valued.

Since the government’s decision to transfer undergraduate nursing to the University of the Western Cape in 2002, the Division concentrated on developing its postgraduate training and research offering. Today there are more than 650 postgraduate students in different specialities at the Division which forms part of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) based at SU’s Tygerberg Campus. It was also one of the first divisions in the faculty to utilise Stellenbosch University’s telematic services to open its Masters’ and postgraduate diploma programmes to students across Africa and other parts of the world. The Division is still involved with undergraduate training as a member of the Common Teaching Platform (CTP) in the Western Cape.

Acting head of the division, Dr Ethelwynn Stellenberg, earlier explained the way forward. “In spite of our success at postgraduate level, this Division is hoping to start an undergraduate programme again and intends to develop a Baccalaureus Degree in Nursing to especially participate in an inter-professional context at the Ukwanda Rural Clinical School. Then we will also meet the need of the country to empower the rural areas.”

Further growth and development are also planned. “The Division’s vision for the following 50 years is to develop into a strong, research intensive nursing school,” says Stellenberg. “We teach and train people, it is part of our portfolio, but we must also strengthen our research component – universities are meant to do research.”  As part of reaching this goal, all staff members have obtained M-degrees over the past three years, and a few have embarked on PhD studies. 

According to Klopper, nursing research is an integral part of the scientific enterprise of improving the nation’s health. She said that the growing body of nursing research must provide a scientific basis for patient care and should be regularly used by all nurses. “Research must be conducted to improve patient outcomes and promote the health and well-being of communities, especially of the most vulnerable populations.”

Stellenberg explained that the Division would like to expand on an international level, while still acknowledging their local relevance.