The School of Nursing and Midwifery (SONAM) has launched its first postgraduate programme, a two-year Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Nursing Studies. The first cohort is made up of ten students.
At a brief ceremony to launch the programme, Prof. Ernestina Donkor, Dean of SONAM (left), welcoming the cohort, told them that they are the trailblazers who are supposed to hold high the banner of the School and the University. She said the programme has been designed to support the development of nursing and midwifery research, and to contribute to the body of knowledge in these fields.
Madam Florence Giaase-Nketiah (DD MS, Public Health), representing the Acting Regional Chief Nursing Officer, VR, said the launch of the programme is a dream come true: “We have been looking forward to such an opportunity for a specialized Master’s degree programme that offers nurses the chance to capture intrinsic beliefs and goals within the profession.”
She said this is a huge step towards the development of the human resource for the profession: “This new programme by UHAS will help shape students and provide direction into skills and specialties needed for the future of this profession.”
Madam Faustine (top-right) assured the audience of her outfit's commitment to continue to provide technical support to help nurture and develop nursing as well as other health-related programmes.
Vice Chancellor Prof. Lydia Aziato said, one of the visions of the founding fathers of the University is to establish the largest School of Nursing and Midwifery in the sub-region, noting that the new programme, forms the basis for many graduate programmes to be rolled-out by the School. She advised the new students to invest in themselves and their studies as well as take advantage of the resources available to them: “MPhil is heavy in research and you cannot do this work without training and use of software for data gathering and analysis.”
Prof. Aziato (bottom-left) told the students, they can only add on to the body of knowledge when their works are published, and she tasked the School to ensure that each student submits at least a manuscript before graduation. She also called for collaboration between the School and the Office of International Programmes to seek for mobility grants, which would allow the students to get much needed exposure from interacting and academically exploring other universities.
Ms. Faith Klinogo (right), a representative of the MPhil students, said their choice of UHAS was based on the vision and mission of the University and expressed the hope that they would be able to complete their programme within the stipulated time and conduct independent research into the teaching and practice of nursing.
This is the fourth school in UHAS, after the schools of Public Health, Allied Health Sciences, and Basic and Biomedical Sciences, to begin a postgraduate programme.
