Train 30 nurses: empower women and save lives

"Thanks to my scholarship, I have the opportunity to follow the training in health program administration which has allowed me to set up the Hospital Hygiene Committee at the hospital where I work."

ISSI has begun offering a Master’s programme in health care administration (MAPS), the first programme training Congolese nurses and midwives to take leadership roles in hospitals or in training the next generation of midwives and nurses. This work is crucial when just 12% of Congolese nursing teachers have the qualifications needed to teach.

It is impossible to quantify in exact terms the impact an opportunity like this has on the life of a health professional, their family and the consequent change in their clinical setting. Mamie’s story is an example of how MAPS not only changes a person’s and their family’s life but also how the training permeates their clinical practice:

"My name is Mamie, I am a single mother of two children and a nurse. I am a first-year student in the Master’s programme in health care administration (MAPS) at the Institut Supérieur en Sciences Infirmières (ISSI). Thanks to my scholarship, I have the opportunity to follow the training in health program administration which has allowed me to set up the Hospital Hygiene Committee at the hospital where I work.

I have also been able to apply what I have learnt through the various courses taken at the ISSI: conduct scientific research to answer relevant questions related to the nursing profession, keep statistics on our various activities, encourage my team to promote health in the practice of their profession, use basic concepts (dignity of the person, humanized care, quality of care).

After taking the hospital hygiene course and understanding the importance of this cell within the hospital, I felt compelled to talk to the hospital’s general manager, who agree to me setting up the Hygiene Committee. Then I contacted different department heads to tell them about the project, they were all in agreement and willing to work with me.

I developed the action plan and the schedule of activities, which I then presented to the members of the hygiene committee for validation, then we presented this plan to the general management, who gave us approval for the implementation of this plan, we organised the committee, trained the staff and developed the various protocols, and set up the operational team.

As a result, the level of hygiene has improved and so has the safety of patients accessing the hospital. After a few months, I was promoted to the position of Director of Nursing. Thanks to this salary, I can take care of my children properly as well as myself. I would like to thank my benefactors wholeheartedly."

Thank you for supporting the education of women like Mamie around the world.

With gratitude,

Nicole Bayes-Fleming and the WONDER team