The College of Health Sciences has organised its 2nd Inter-College Lecture Series at the R.S. Amegashie Auditorium, University of Ghana Business School, Legon.
This year’s lecture was under the theme; “Strengthening the Role of Nurse Managers at the Unit Level in Ghana: A Strategy for Effectiveness and Efficiency.” The lecture was delivered by Dr. Adelaide Maria Ansah Ofei of the School of Nursing and Midwifery.
Dr. Lydia Aziato, Acting Dean of the School of Nursing and Midwifery, in her welcome address said the Inter-College Lecture Series was a means through which the University interacted with its immediate society and informed the general public about research activities being undertaken by the University. It was also a way of bringing the University closer to the society it serves, she noted.
Dr. Aziato stated that the rationale for the University of Ghana Inter-College Lecture was to create a platform for faculty members to discuss their research findings with the University Community and the general public and to encourage discussions on findings of on-going research, which allows members of the University community and the general public to ask questions and make contributions to improve the project design.
Dr. Adelaide Maria Ansah Ofei, Acting Head of the Department of Research, Education and Administration, delivering this year’s lecture, stated that nursing staff were the largest and costly resource in health care facilities, and that they deliver about 80% of all health care services and nurse managers were needed to lead and manage them.
She said Nurse Managers were pivotal for staff engagement, retention, productivity, quality outcomes and positive experiences and that to nurture the environment for quality health delivery, Nurse Managers must be trained and given the needed support by management to function effectively and efficiently. She said Nurse Managers constitute the vital link between management and nurses, and they translate the mission and vision of the hospital into reality.
Dr. Offei Ansah stated that at the top of the leadership structure of the patient care unit was the nurse manager. She said Nurse Managers, traditionally known as ‘the in-charge’ or ‘head-nurse’, were needed to provide leadership for the nursing team and to promote the rights of nurses and patients on the wards.
She said nurse managers were vulnerable at the unit level because of lack of motivation, inadequate training and education. She added that they are seen as weak when it comes to policy formulation because of these factors. She argued that one way of resolving this issue was to relook at the structure and history at the hospital centres and put in measures to correct them.
Rev. Professor Patrick F. Ayeh-Kumi, Provost of the College of Health Sciences, who chaired the lecture said in his remarks said that it was obvious that one of the major problems plaguing the society today was a leadership one. He said in the health sector, teamwork was most crucial to get the job done.
He paid glowing tribute to an “in-charge”, who he said intervened during the delivery of his first child some twenty–one years ago, when doctors at the hospital were on strike, adding that were it not for this intervention, his child perhaps would not have lived. He stressed the need for health personnel to be dedicated to their work and demonstrate commitment to their profession. This he said would enable them to give off their best regardless of the challenges they may encounter at the facility centres.
The lecture was the second in the series of Inter-College Lectures introduced by the University of Ghana, since the University adopted the collegiate system of governance in 2014. The Inter-College Lecture Series have come to replace the Inter-Faculty lectures of the University, previously held as part of scholarly lectures on the academic calendar.
