​The growing body of research at the Division of Nursing was showcased at the Nursing and Midwifery Research Day held on Tuesday, 21 June 2016 at Stellenbosch University's (SU) Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS). The theme, "60 years of scholarship", acknowledged the FMHS's 60th anniversary which is being celebrated this year.

Prof Anita van der Merwe, Head of the Division of Nursing, said the division considers the quality of research outputs as critical and is well on its way to help establish a cadre of nurses and midwives equipped with Masters and PhD degrees. "We are proud of our nurses and midwives who, under difficult circumstances, maintain high standards in their academic pursuits which will ultimately benefit patients and students," Van der Merwe said.

According to Prof Ethelwynn Stellenberg, an Associate Professor of Nursing, the division's research projects are focussed on relevant, health-related issues to ensure that it can be translated into practice. "Research must provide a scientific basis for patient care and should be regularly used by all nurses. It must be conducted to improve patient outcomes and promote the health and well-being of communities, especially of the most vulnerable populations."

Prof Usuf Chikte, Executive Head of the Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, discussed the role of nursing in healthcare and the current status of nursing education in South Africa. He said there is a universal health workforce crisis, particularly in nursing, which is characterised by critical shortages, imbalanced skills and migration. 

"There is also sadly a geographically unequal distribution of health professionals and insufficient progress on maternal and child health in South Africa.

"Nurses make up the largest single group of healthcare providers in any country, including South Africa, and play a pivotal role in making healthcare accessible to the majority of the population. 

"The proposed undergraduate nursing programme at SU will add significantly to the quality of nurse training in South Africa for safe, evidence-based, patient-centred care.

"Good governance and sound relationships with the Provincial Government of the Western Cape is essential for quality healthcare education and training at SU. 

"Over the past 10 years there has been a prolific development of postgraduate education and research from the Division of Nursing, a pre-eminent destination for quality in healthcare training," Chikte said.

Mr Tendani Mabuda, newly appointed Director of Nursing Services in the Western Cape Department of Health, emphasised the importance of research to find answers to the changing nursing education landscape. 

Mabuda said that the patient/nurse ratio in South Africa is well below World Health Organisation (WHO) targets.  "We need evidence for best practice and cost effective changes, for example task shifting, to address shortfalls whilst maintaining quality of service and patient safety."

"Although we desperately need to address the shortfall, it is important to recruit students who have nursing at heart, taking the quality rather than quantity of graduates into account," said Mabuda.

Photo: From left to right, Prof Usuf Chikte, Executive Head of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences; Prof Anita van der Merwe, Head of the Division of Nursing; Mr Tendani Mabuda, Director of Nursing Services Western Cape Department of Health; Prof Ethelwynn Stellenberg, Associate Professor of Nursing; and Dr Sabela Petros, Deputy Director of Health Research, Western Cape Department of Health.