People of AMPATH: Dinah Chelagat, Dean of the Moi University School of Nursing and Midwifery

HOW DID YOU GET INTERESTED IN THE NURSING PROFESSION?

During my early days in high school, I was interested in either becoming a teacher or a nurse. Upon completing high school, I made up my mind to be a nurse. Though I had passed very well in high school, the highest level of nursing that was available in Kenya at that time was a diploma in nursing (associate degree). For this, a person trained for 3 1/2 years. I undertook my studies at the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) in Nairobi. After three years of working, I went back to study and qualified for a post-basic diploma in midwifery for a period of a year. Upon completing midwifery, I was posted to teach nursing at one of the campuses of MTC. I undertook a number of certificate trainings before going to The University of Exeter in Britain where I completed the Master of Arts in Family Planning Program Management in 1992. I later went to the US and did a Master of Public Health at the University of Alabama in Birmingham and graduated in 1999. In 2011, I registered for the Ph.D. program nursing (midwifery) and graduated in 2015.

Dean Chelagat

I started working at Moi University at the current College of Health Sciences in 1994, where I have served the university at various levels and currently serving as the Dean of the School of Nursing and Midwifery.

HOW DID YOU START WORKING WITH AMPATH PARTNERSHIP?

I started working with the AMPATH partnership when we were working on the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV more than 10 years ago. Active participation in AMPATH has taken place over the past two years when we formed a team of nurses and midwives from Indiana University School of Nursing, University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and Moi University School of Nursing.

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FACED BY NURSES IN KENYA?

Nursing/midwifery profession in Kenya is faced with a myriad of challenges, as is the case in many low- and middle-income countries. The major challenge is the shortage of staff both at the teaching institutions and also in the hospitals. There is also a shortage of equipment and material required for the provision of quality care.

HOW IS THE AMPATH NURSING PARTNERSHIP HELPING TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE CHALLENGES FACED BY NURSES AND MIDWIVES?

The AMPATH partnership, especially with the nursing team, is helping us provide Evidenced Based Practice in the hospital and also train our student nurses and midwives based on available evidence from the collaborative research that we jointly participate in. We also look forward to working together in the supervision of postgraduate students which in some way addresses the shortage of staff at the teaching institutions. Our undergraduate students have also had online engagement where they share experiences as they study similar courses in their curricula.

WHAT IS THE MOST REWARDING PART OF BEING A NURSE/MIDWIFE?

The most rewarding part of being a nurse/midwife is being able to assist a person to perform tasks that they are not able to do for themselves and seeing the difference your nursing action makes in their life. Being a nurse/midwifery trainer is further rewarding when you see a student joining first year with very minimal knowledge and skills in nursing and midwifery and then in about four years you are sending out a professional who is well-trained and prepared to serve the community as a nurse/midwife at home and abroad.

Having been a nurse trainer at different levels for over 36 years gives me great satisfaction as I meet my former students in various levels of leadership in the nursing and midwifery profession. Over half of the current faculty at our School of Nursing and Midwifery are my former students and two of the chairs of department were my students. This makes me happy as I prepare to exit the profession on retirement in a few years to come.

What makes AMPATH partnership special?

Being able to collaborate in three areas of interest: care, research and education, where we all have a part to play is what makes AMPATH special. Mentorship is another key area whereby those with more experience take time to mentor the less experienced.

Thank you.