Mount Kenya University was on Tuesday re-accredited by the Nursing Council of Kenya to continue training nursing students.
The Institution has been offering Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree for the last 12 years and has been subject to regular reviews by the Nursing Council to confirm that the university’s facilities, including laboratories, meet the set requirements.
The reviews undertaken every five years are a legal requirement for all institutions of higher learning training nursing students.
The Registrar Nursing Council of Kenya Dr Lister Onsongo presented the re-accreditation certificate to the MKU Vice Chancellor Prof Deogratious Jaganyi at a function on Tuesday.
The re-accreditation followed a review process, during which the Nursing Council of Kenya inspected the University and affiliated hospitals last year.
“MKU was granted approval to train nursing students in 2012 and the first re-accreditation was conducted in 2017 this is the second re-accreditation Since 2012, our nursing programme has produced over 1,400 qualified nurses who are making a significant impact in healthcare both locally and internationally,” he said.
He noted that the university had made heavy investments in healthcare training, including setting up two ultra-modern nursing skills laboratories that are available for use by nursing and other medical students.
MKU has also endeavoured to secure opportunities for healthcare graduates locally and abroad through partnerships with German and Austrian institutions to provide graduates with jobs in healthcare industries in the two European markets.
Already, more than 80 MKU-trained nursing graduates have started work in the two countries with the first cohort of 40 leaving the country in April last year while another cohort left in September.
Mount Kenya University Dean of Nursing Dr George Njoroge (left) MKU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Deogratius Jaganyi receive a certificate of re-accreditation to offer nursing courses from the Registrar Nursing Council of Kenya Dr Lister Onsongo and Ann Mukuna Director of Standards at Nursing Council of Kenya as health science students look on. Nursing Council of Kenya re-accredited MKU to continue training nursing students after a review process undertaken last year that confirmed the university conforms with the set standards including having laboratories with state-of-the-art equipment. The review process and re-accreditation is carried out every five years /PHOTO POLL
Among the institutions that MKU has partnered with include Hochschule Koblenz University of Applied Sciences in Germany and Lebenshilfe Tirol of Austria, enabling young Kenyans trained in healthcare get paid apprenticeships and jobs in the two countries.
“This re-accreditation underscores our unwavering commitment to providing world-class nursing education that meets and exceeds regulatory standards,” said Prof Jaganyi, adding that the University is looking forward to increasing the number of nursing students.
“With today’s award of the re-accreditation certificate, the University looks forward to being awarded an additional number of students by the Nursing Council of Kenya.”
Dr Onsongo said okaying local institutions to train nursing students through the accreditations meant that Kenyan nursing graduates could work anywhere in the world.
She noted that globally, nursing training is guided by the International Council of Nurses which is the umbrella body for all nurses.
Dr Onsongo added that nurses trained in accredited institutions in Kenya meet global standards.
“Nursing training in Kenya is anchored under the International Council of Nurses, where nurses trained and working in Kenya are eligible to practice nursing in any part of the world,” she said, adding that for local colleges and universities to be approved or re-accredited to train nurses, they need to meet the council standards, which conform with the international standards.
“After five years the council will inspect Mount Kenya University again for another reaccreditation. Nursing Council of Kenya recognizes the efforts put by MKU to maintain high standards that have enabled this reaccreditation for another period of five years,” she said.
“There are ultra modern skills laboratories at the university worth international standards, fully equipped with even high fidelity mannequins. This is an investment worth nursing training.”
She added that demand for nursing studies has gone up owing to growth in the Kenyan population as well as increased demand for healthcare professionals internationally.
Onsongo added that the Nursing Council would look into the application by MKU to increase the number of nursing students that it can train.
“We recognize that the demand to train nurses in Kenya has gone high and institutions have to be in tandem with this demand,” she said
Heath students from Mount Kenya University celebrate certificate of re-accreditation to offer nursing courses after the Nursing Council of Kenya re-accredited MKU to continue training nursing students after a review process undertaken last year that confirmed the university conforms with the set standards including having laboratories with state of the art equipment. The review process and re-accreditation is carried out every five years /PHOTO POLL
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