I’m not saying it’s going to be easy – I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it. A couple of weeks ago, I received a call from Linda. Linda is a 23-year-old daughter to a bosom buddy and colleague. She is a girl with who I have walked the academic journey with, someone who I have given my input on such things as which school to join, which course to pursue and it has been well. She is someone who I have mentored. Linda called as she had just graduated from nursing school with a B.Sc. in nursing degree.
Our conversation took
approximately 25 minutes. My little girl needed guidance on what to do after
getting her nursing practicing license. This call made me think of many others
in Linda`s shoes who had no one to look up to for guidance upon completion of a
bachelor’s degree in nursing.
I remember walking
this path a couple of years back. Sadly for me, I was not privileged to
have a mentor like Linda has in me. Remembering that anguish of not knowing
what next has motivated me to pen this article. Hopefully, by the end, you will
know where to head next in your nursing career.
BSc Nursing program
training
In Kenya, the
Bachelor’s degree in Nursing training was first offered by Baraton
University in the late 80s. At the moment there are 24 nursing schools in Kenya in
both public and private universities. The course lasts 4 and half years.
Nursing school fees differ from one school to the other but are generally lower
than the fees paid for dentistry and medicine. Kindly check different
university websites for updated fees structures of their nursing degree
programs.
My experience
pursuing Bsc in Nursing in Kenya
I find it necessary to
share my experience studying for a bachelor’s degree in nursing. This is
because the uncertainty surrounding Bsc in Nursing training in Kenya is the
genesis of the trepidation graduates face upon completion.
By sharing my
experience, I hope that recent degree nurses graduates can learn how to compartmentalize experiences. And not to let the negative experiences during
training lead to dejection whilst navigating the muddied waters of making a
career out of your hard-earned degree.
First-year of
bachelor’s degree in nursing
In most Kenyan
universities, first-year students studying Bachelor of science Medicine and
surgery, Bachelor of science Pharmacy, Bachelor of science dentistry, Bachelor
of Science Environmental health, and Bsc Nursing are all expected to take
common units like Human Anatomy & Physiology Biochemistry and Microbiology.
Going back, I realize
that dad was right I thought. University is a wonderful period but the
requisite temperament is needed to emerge successfully. Nursing school was
initially lots of fun but that was before the examinations started
coming thick and first.
Our first-year class
was short of a political rally. Lectures were given with the aid of a
microphone and an overhead projector on a big screen like the one you watch in
a movie theater. It was very difficult to know your classmates. We were
approximately 800-1000 or thereabouts.
Second Year
Fast forward, to the second year. Each department isolated its students. I felt awkward. I was
excited and jealous at the same time.
Excited at getting
close to my dream of impacting lives. One year down. Three and a half more to
go.
Jealous of the
environmental health students who didn’t have to sluice soiled linen, make
beds, take vital signs undertake risky nursing procedures like dressing septic
wounds and conducting deliveries with such high grades. To say the truth,
bedside nursing was not just my thing.
Besides, I missed my
friends. I don’t remember where my other colleagues studying Medicine,
Pharmacy, dentistry, and Environmental health went save for occasional meet-ups
in our rotations in the wards.
As many attest,
training for a degree in nursing is no walk in the park. I remember making a
reverse call home one evening. It was one of those lucky evenings I found an old
man in the house. He returned my call. We got talking. I mentioned challenges I
was facing in nursing school.
Defeated, I wanted
nothing to do with nursing. I told him my intention to drop out of nursing
school and try education or something else like a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce.
He asked me to go home over the weekend for a heart-to-heart conversation.
I almost quit
nursing school
After dinner, we got
to what had brought me home. Dad wore this face of a clenched fist. His pose
was that of a defeated man. He sat on his favorite chair leaning forward with
drooped shoulders like a sick bird. He was cheerless. Gloomy. Dejected.
Troubled. Heartbroken. He asked me to state my case after a word of prayer from
mum.
To cut the long story
short, dad did not give an option to change courses. Dropping out of Nursing
School was no option either.
He didn’t say much. He
reminded me the humble background I had come from. And that studying a Bsc in
Nursing was a privilege. It was upon me to jump at it or fritter away.
Since I was the first-born in a family of 12, as is the case in many other
homes, dad expected me help pay my siblings fees after graduating with my
degree in nursing. I went back to school determined to take Bsc Nursing head
on. I promised myself to make my parents proud.
First steps to
making a career out of nursing once done with Bsc in Nursing
After graduation, all
Bsc Nursing majors and other nurses trained outside the country are expected to
pass the Kenya Nursing Council Licensing Exams. They will then proceed to
undertake one year internship in approved hospitals.
Generally the Bsc
Nursing internship program is intense and rigorous. Internship can be paid or
non paid depending on the hospital. The government has been grappling with the
idea of paying Bsc Nursing interns. This has not yet been concluded. After
internship, these degree nurses will now be ready to be registered by the
Nursing Council of Kenya.
At this point I
traveled home as is tradition to thank God for everything good. This time my
reason for meeting mum and dad was to show them my achievement.
The meeting was
awesome. Dad was beaming with pride and joy. He was pleased in me. There was no
electricity in my village. We didn’t even have paraffin to light our house that
night. The joy in our hearts was sufficient. We shared a meal and evening
prayer and slept.
The morning after dad
charged me. He told me to get out with my “spear” the nursing degree and
go hunting
for jobs. I have never looked back
A career in Nursing:
Kenyan Jobs in Nursing after Completing your Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing
Young nurses should
not to despair with the frequent nurses
strikes in Kenya. Couple of years down the line and I am still
proud to have taken old man`s advise. Degree nursing has thousands of career
opportunities. Given the shortage of nurses in Kenya, that sees even yet to
graduate students offered nursing jobs, many make the mistake of not having the
basics taken care of. Just like other jobs, ensure you have your resume and
other credentials ready.
- One can work with the central government
in the two national hospitals ie MTRH or KNH. Degree nurses can also work
with the national government as sectional heads or advisors to health
management teams. A BSc in Nursing prepares one for leadership in health.
Your diligence and networking skills determine the ceiling for you.
- Nursing degree holders can also work with
the county governments as a staff nurses, Directors of Nursing Services,
Chief Officers, Directors of Health and County Executive Committee Member
of Health. Even governors themselves.
- Bsc Nursing degree holders are hot cakes
when it comes to them being employed by local and international NGOs; and
the United Nations. Degree nurses work in different capacities
ranging from program officers, program coordinators, program managers,
deputy chief of party, advisors, chief of party etc. Opportunities are
abound.
- Jobs in Nursing are also available in
private and government insurance companies as underwriters and health
managers for holders of Bachelors degree in Nursing. Bsc Nursing majors
can also work with NHIF in all areas ranging from quality assurance,
compliance, enrollment, claims, etc
- Nurses can also join the military and
other uniformed forces as specialists. Military nurses undergo a very
rigorous military training when joining. They quickly move up the ranks
soon after inauguration.
- Bsc Nurses can also work in special
settings like prisons, airports and port services to take care of
immigration health.
- Working with pharmaceutical companies as
medical representatives. This is usually a very attractive offer given the
fact that most companies give out cars to their sales team.
- Nursing teaching positions are available
all over in the republic. The 24 universities offering nursing degree
programs have not satisfied their staffing needs for masters degrees in nursing
holders as well as PhD in nursing degrees.
- Degree nurses can also work with research
organizations like KEMRI, CDC and Walter Reed as principal investigators,
research assistants and research administrators etc
- A Bsc in Nursing opens the doors for
working with private healthcare providers like The Aga Khan University,
The Nairobi Hospital, MP Shah, The Karen Hospital etc. This will be such a
nice opportunity for those who enjoy bedside nursing.
- For the entrepreneurs among
us, degree nurses can also get licensed by the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board to
operate nursing homes and private clinics
- There are many scholarships for degree
nurses wishing to pursue masters and PhD degrees locally, in Europe,
Australia and America.
- Nurses can also pursue the path to work
and live in Europe, America, Australia etc
Masters degree in
Nursing
In there somewhere, I
found my perfect fit in public health. I have worked in a district hospital,
national referral hospital and majorly,in a local non-governmental
organization. I know of many Bsc in Nursing degree holders working in similar
organizations, local and international, government and private, at positions
similar to and more senior to mine.
Nursing pays. One needs to think through where they want to be and set out to achieve it. I will be sharing my masters degree experience later, including what I have gathered from peers who pursued masters degree in nursing.
$ads={2}