Home Nurses’ and nurse educators’ experiences of a Pediatric Nursing Continuing Professional Development program in Rwanda
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Nurses’ and nurse educators’ experiences of a Pediatric Nursing Continuing Professional Development program in Rwanda

  • Amy K. Olson ORCID logo EMAIL logo , Yolanda Babenko-Mould , Panagiota D. Tryphonopoulos ORCID logo , Donatilla Mukamana ORCID logo and David F. Cechetto
Published/Copyright: August 25, 2022

Abstract

Objectives

In 2016, a Pediatric Nursing Continuing Professional Development (PNCPD) program was created and implemented in Kigali, Rwanda, through the Training, Support, and Access Model (TSAM) for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (MNCH). This partnership project between Canada and Rwanda provided pediatric nursing education to forty-one Rwandan nurses and nurse educators in 2018 and 2019. The objective of this research study was to explore the experiences of nurses and nurse educators applying pediatric knowledge and skills to academic and clinical settings after participating in the PNCPD program.

Methods

This study was situated within an interpretive descriptive perspective to explore the ways in which knowledge gained during the PNCPD program in Rwanda was applied by nurses and nurse educators in their nursing practice, both academically and clinically. Data was collected through individual interviews. Inductive content analysis was used for data analysis.

Results

The analysis of the interviews resulted in the emergence of five themes: Transformations in Pediatric Nursing Practice, Knowledge Sharing, Relationship-Based Nursing, Barriers and Facilitators to Knowledge Implementation, and Scaling-up PNCPD within the Health System.

Conclusions

The results of this study have the potential to inform positive changes to child health care in Rwanda, including scaling up pediatric nursing education to other areas of the healthcare system.


Corresponding author: Amy K. Olson, RN, MScN Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond St, N6A 3K7, London, Ontario, Canada, E-mail:

Funding source: Global Affairs Canada

Award Identifier / Grant number: D002044/P001048

Acknowledgments

This research for the Training, Support and Access Model for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health in Rwanda Project has been undertaken with financial support to the University of Western Ontario from the Government of Canada provided through Global Affairs Canada. The authors would like to acknowledge and thank all of the staff and volunteers on the Training, Support, and Access Model for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health in Rwanda project. Additionally, the primary author (Amy Olson) would like to thank Golbert Kazoza for his support as the nursing and midwifery manager. Special thanks to all of the nurses and nurse educators who participated in this research.

  1. Research funding: This research was undertaken with financial support provided by Global Affairs Canada through the University of Western Ontario, project number: D002044/P001048. The funding organizations played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication.

  2. Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.

  3. Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.

  4. Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in this study.

  5. Ethical approval: This research related to human use has complied with all the relevant national regulations, institutional policies, and in accordance with the tenets of the Helsinki Declaration, and has been approved by the authors’ Institutional Review Board: (1) Western University Health Science Research Ethics Board (HSREB), 112064; and (2) University of Rwanda Institutional Review Board (IRB), 559).

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Received: 2021-11-27
Accepted: 2022-07-31
Published Online: 2022-08-25

© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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