Sarah Komujuni graduated during the February 2019 convocation in Kampala. Soon after graduating, she was awarded a Commonwealth Professional Fellowship. She was one of five health professionals from Uganda to receive one of the highly competitive 2019 fellowships. The fellowship involved a visit to the Liverpool John Moores University for six weeks beginning on April 23, 2019. Here, the fellows participated in capacity-building activities, attended clinical tours as well as a World Health Organization (WHO) global conference on public health nursing and midwifery. Thereafter, they were to develop a plan of action to influence their home and work environment by devising ways to improve their various healthcare settings.
Dr Sean Mackay, Sarah's supervisor for the fellowship, shared that, "Sarah has been eager to participate fully in all the opportunities offered during the fellowship, and has been proactive in discussions with experts at our leading cancer centres and during a WHO Collaborating Centre global conference. I can see how Sarah can be a catalyst for change on her return to Uganda, and I wish her well in her future."
SONAM News caught up with Sarah to learn more about her background, her experience at AKU-SONAM as a student and her Fellowship experience.
What's your background?
My father worked as a soldier in the Uganda People's Defense Forces while my mom was a full-time housewife. As the second born of nine siblings, I watched dad struggle to provide food, shelter and healthcare. Nonetheless, dad always prioritized education and ensured that we went to good schools. He would say, "If you educate the girl child, you educate a nation."
From a young age, I knew that I wanted to be a nurse. Most of my childhood games involved having a small clinic and giving injections to the 'sick'. In the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE), I emerged top of my class with 17 points in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Fine Art and was offered a chance to pursue a Bachelor's Degree of Science in Nursing at Makerere University on private sponsorship. However, my father could not afford the tuition so I opted to pursue a Diploma in Nursing at Mulago School of Nursing and Midwifery, which I completed in November 2013.
How did you end up going back to school?
In March 2014, I started to work at Nakasero hospital, a private healthcare facility in Kampala. I served in this capacity for one year before getting promoted as the Nursing Supervisor in the Accidents and Emergency department. My work was to provide timely and quality emergency care to patients as well as to mentor, coach and supervise my team. I worked there for five years before I moved to the Uganda Cancer Institute Mulago, where I currently serve in the Emergency Department.
I learned that the Aga Khan University offered nurses career advancement opportunities from a colleague at Nakasero hospital. I walked to the university and applied to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) programme which ran from August 2016 to December 2018. By this time I had been out of academic study for a few years, therefore I was concerned about how I was going to cope with school, family and still work full-time. However as school went on, I realized how warm and supportive the faculty was. We were taught by use of the latest technology such as the Virtual Learning Environment, a web-based platform where students and lecturers can create, upload and share resources. This really developed my IT skills. The librarians also held regular classes to help students with researching and referencing techniques.
The BScN programme shaped me to be a well-rounded nurse who is able to provide culturally sensitive, evidence-based nursing care that meets international standards. My class had 32 students and the faculty gave us personalized attention. Through group and individual presentations, I learned how to speak confidently to large audiences.
Late in 2018 as I was preparing for my final exams, I came across the Commonwealth Fellowship opportunity through a nurses' WhatsApp group that I am part of. They wanted to support talented and motivated individuals who have the potential to make change. I applied online and two weeks later, I received an email that my application had gone through! I had been awarded a Commonwealth Professional Fellowship under strengthening health systems and capacity!
How was your experience?
My experience was lovely. The city has different world heritage sites, several museums and vibrant football clubs, there was so much to admire and explore. The people of Liverpool were also quite friendly! Any time I stopped people on the street to ask for directions, they gave me directions willingly and with a smile.
However, the fellowship programme was intense.
During the application process, applicants were asked to identify gaps in their healthcare systems and possible solutions on how best to bridge the gaps at individual, institutional and national levels. The purpose of this programme was to equip us with skills that would enable us to address those gaps upon the return to our home countries. I was in class with other international students, training on capacity-building and development. I also visited hospitals such as The Christie, Manchester Cancer Research Centre and Royal Liverpool Hospital. This enabled me to compare the health system in the UK to the one in Uganda so that I can form feasible approaches on how to contribute to the development of our health system back home. I also attended a two-day WHO conference on Global Perspectives on Improving Population Health 2019, hosted by Public Health England, at Liverpool John Moores University. At this forum, I learned a lot about preventing illness as a nurse and applying evidence-based approaches to improve health outcomes.
What did you learn?
This experience significantly contributed to my personal development and changed my outlook on life. I have always been passionate about oncology nursing because cancer patients teach me a lot about life, love, perseverance and gratitude. They are very appreciative and grateful people and they remind me how important it is to be grateful for the little things.
Many patients in the emergency department present with chemotherapy-induced side effects. These instances could be minimized if health workers follow standard operating procedures of chemotherapy administration. By adapting some of the protocols I was exposed to in the UK, I want to develop tools for assessing patients before, during and after chemotherapy administration. I believe this will go a long way in minimizing chemotherapy errors and side effects.
In today's dynamic healthcare environment, patient care is becoming more complex, requiring nurses who are adequately prepared to meet these diverse needs. It is important for nurses to apply for different opportunities and increase their knowledge.
Opportunities will open up and you have to make a choice on whether to take them or stay afraid. I am grateful to God, my family and the entire AKU community for always encouraging and inspiring me to go beyond borders.
