the KwaZulu Natal Nursing College
24 July 2007
It remains our objective, as a department to produce caring and competent
nurses and clinical nurse specialists that will be responsive to the current
and future health needs of the citizens of this province.
Our province as part of the continent has also suffered from the exodus of
qualified professionals seeking green pastures from the developed world.
Reality is that with the 1994 democratic dispensation in South Africa, the
following factors negatively influenced the production and retention of
nurses:
* Globalisation - nurses were able to market their skills to the
international world. This migration led to the shortage of nurse
educators.
* The salaries of nurses and nurse educators are not market related because of
increasing living expenses and improved lifestyle.
* The HIV and AIDS epidemic has taken its own toll on professionals across the
spectrum and at the same time has caused overcrowding of the health facilities
with limited number of nurses and other resources thus creating a burden to
those serving.
* Working conditions and lack of accommodation especially in our facilities in
the rural areas has also affected our retention efforts.
Our department has had to rethink on the strategy to produce more nurses,
hence the restructuring and the merger of three separate colleges, namely Natal
College of Nursing, Ngwelezane and Edendale to form the KwaZulu-Natal College
of Nursing.
This is a new single college with 11 campuses spread in all the parts of the
KwaZulu-Natal province to cater for the needs of our people in their own
districts and to make sure that the sick are attended by the people who won't
be eager to leave them. The distribution is as follows:
Four campuses in the northern region:
* Benedictine Hospital
* Charles Johnson Memorial
* Ngwelezana Hospital
* Madadeni Hospital
Seven in the southern region:
* Addington, R K Khan
* Edendale, Prince Mshiyeni
* Greys/Northdale, Port Shepstone
* King Edward for post registration programmes.
As a department we have a budget allocation of R270 million for the 2006/07
financial year put aside solely for nurse training. This year the KwaZulu-Natal
College of Nursing aims to admit a total number of 1 050 basic students during
the current academic year, across all 25 campuses and sub-campuses. This will
add to the progress we made last year when we graduated 2 900 nurses in two
separate ceremonies, at Empangeni as well as in Durban. As we continue
producing more nurses, we hope to improve on the South African Nursing Council
Statistics, year 2006 that put the population per qualified nurse at 468:1.
We are thus calling upon all aspiring nurses to take notice of the fact that
we have two intakes a year and that admission requirements are as follows:
For the 4 year nursing programme:
A Grade 12 certificate with a minimum of 20 points
English: a minimum symbol of 'E' on Higher Grade or symbol 'D' on Standard
Grade
For the Enrolled Nurse Training programme:
A Grade 12 certificate with a minimum of 15 points.
We also offering our qualified nurses with post registration courses as
means to improve their qualifications and thus make them specialists in their
chosen paths. Courses available include:
* 1 Year Midwifery
* 1 Year Psychiatric Nursing
* Child Nursing
* Orthopaedic Nursing
* Advanced Mid & Neonatal Nursing
* Operating Theatre Nursing
* Critical Care
* Primary Health Care
* Ophthalmology.
As a department, I must point out that we make our intentions clear that we
intend keeping the nurses we produce. All nurse learners are contracted on
completion of their training, a service obligation equal to period of study is
made mandatory.
Our administration supports the efforts of our national Minister, Manto
Tshabalala-Msimang as she has negotiated a 23% hike for the nurses. We also
stand behind her in her efforts to lure back the nurses plying their services
abroad promising to play our part as a province in improving the working and
living conditions of our staff.
Issued by: Department of Health, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
24 July 2007
