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| AGA KHAN UNIVERSITY | Home | Site Map | Contact | ||
| Newsletter Online | |||
| July 2004 |
VOL
5. NO.2
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AKUH Nursing Helps Enhance Syrian Health Care Systems
The Nursing Division of AKUH has assumed a leadership position in defining the role of professional nursing in Pakistan and in creating a model of nursing excellence which may be emulated not only in the country but throughout the region. In pursuance of this philosophy, the Nursing Division has made an impact on several hospitals in Pakistan through continuous nursing education and quality initiatives. Such strategies are now benefiting Syrian hospitals as well. A five-year work plan, developed jointly by Syria's Ministry of Health, AKDN and AKU, aims to improve the quality of nursing education and services at Syrian hospitals and nursing schools. It also entails a Nursing Quality Assurance Programme (NQAP) initiated in two Syrian hospitals, Hilal-e-Ahmer in Damascus and Al-Assad in Hama. In this connection, AKU signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Syria in May 2004 to help improve the quality of nursing care and education in the country. "Nurses are a vital component of any health care system. This investment in our country's resources is necessary if we are to sustain development," Dr M. Iyad Chatty, Syria's Minister for Health, said on the occasion. "We see AKU as a priority partner given the integrated nature of our joint programme which includes curriculum design, education and leadership development." Earlier, a group of 14 Syrian nursing directors and two physicians visited the University Hospital in January 2004 to facilitate the implementation of NQAP and to prepare for crucial and diverse roles as physicians and nursing leaders. Orientation programmes for the visiting team were designed by the Nursing Education Services Department of AKUH Nursing Division. The programmes consisted of both theory and practical components to introduce the participants to AKUH systems of patient care management, organisational structure, staff development and management, quality assurance, patient family education and patient complaint handling. Participants also received two weeks of exposure to clinical areas. At the conclusion of the programmes, Syrian nurses highlighted the specific areas in which they benefited and foresaw how the education imparted to them at AKU would assist them in the workplace. The visiting group also identified some key problems in Syrian health care delivery systems, including the absence of organisational structures, documentation, clinical policies, and procedures and standards. Lack of opportunities for continuous education in nursing and a shortage of patient safety and security systems were also cited as problem areas. This initiative is expected to help the Government of Syria in launching pragmatic programmes aimed at enhancing health care settings at the national level by determining the actual health care needs of the country's population. Simultaneously, AKUH Nursing Division aims to expand its own capacity to meet the current and future needs of Syrian health care systems through new collaborations and partnerships. The initiative is an integral part of AKU's primary mission of developing quality human resources that are trained to respond to the unique needs of the developing world.
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