by Emmanuel H. Joseph
Government Information Service
The Dominica State College has started the Bachelor of Science degree in nursing on Monday, 7th September, 2009. The degree was developed collaboratively by staff of the DSC, local experts in nursing and the distinguished Dr. Georgia McDuffie of Medgar Evers College of City University of New York.
Dominica State College
President of the Dominica State College Hubert Charles stated that this development underscores the school’s commitment to improve on its programme offerings to the Dominican public and contribute at the same time to improving the delivery of health care in Dominica. Mr. Charles noted that the school will continue to prioritise and improve nursing training at the college.
Seventeen students who already possess an associate degree or its equivalent are enrolled in the programme. The students are all registered nurses employed by in both the public and private sector. The majority are employed at the princess Margaret hospital. They are expected to graduate with their Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) in 2011.
In the meantime, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Dominica State College, nurse Denise Edwards, described the Bachelor of Science degree in nursing as “a trailblazer for nursing education in Dominica”. She expects the programme to positively impact on the quality of nursing care at various levels on the island.
The programme is a comprehensive mix of general education courses, electives and nursing-specific courses. Some of the courses are cross-faculty courses. This means that they will be done together with students in other faculties of the Dominica State College.
One such course is speech communication which will enhance the nursing professionals with the ability to effectively transfer information to the people with whom they interact at both personal and professional levels. The nursing-specific courses add depth to the existing nursing knowledge base of the students and will be done with the faculty of health sciences. The State College is convinced that the linkage with Medgar Evers College adds much to the credibility of the BSN programme and gives it the international recognition DSC has insisted upon.
The Dominica State College has contracted highly qualified and widely experienced lecturers to deliver the courses of the programme. This is to ensure that the programme meets the academic standards associated with a highly competent teaching staff. It is expected that sometime in the future, the programme will be opened up for residents of the OECS countries. |
