On Saturday the 17th of February, 2024, a team of six expert neonatal nurses led by a COINN Neonatal Nurse educator from Ghana arrived at the Murtala Mohammed international airport in Lagos, Nigeria to commence the preceptorship support to a team of 38 trained neonatal nurses. The preceptors settled over the weekends at six different hospitals across six different states in Nigeria including Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Enugu, Yola, and Asaba. So far, it’s been two weeks of impacting knowledge and intriguing encounter of ongoing interactions, discussions, didactic, and bedside clinical skill acquisition at the various sites.
Prior to the commencement on Tuesday, each preceptor had a good reception and met with key stakeholders including hospital PROs, Provost of nursing at the universities, Site neonatologists/consultants, chief medical directors, hospital director of nursing services, heads of neonatal units, and student trainees on Monday, 19th February, 2024. The meetings provided an opportunity to outline details of the training approach and expected outcomes as well as orientation of preceptors to the various hospital environment and the neonatal units.
The preceptorship program is intertwined with didactic teaching using COINN 12 modules and bedside clinical preceptorship support in the neonatal unit to breach the theory practice gap. The competency level of participants were first assessed using the COINN competency checklist whiles the neonatal task/skills checklist is used to guide bedside clinical teaching and skills acquisition. Already, not less than 7modules out of the 12 modules have been successfully completed by all preceptors with notable areas of clinical skills impacted and acquired by participants including; comprehensive history taking, head-to-toe examination, plotting anthropometry on growth chart, gestational age assessment using Ballard score, pain assessment and management, focus respiratory assessment, helping baby breathe and advance neonatal resuscitation, post resuscitation care, safe administration of oxygen and CPAP, preparation for admission, Setting-up, adjusting and cleaning the incubator and overhead warmer, counselling and family centered care, and management of common newborn conditions such as Prematurity, perinatal asphyxia, neonatal jaundice, gastroschisis, and neonatal sepsis etc.
Evidence of the importance and impact of the training is being felt and expressed by several stakeholders with the training making its way into the local news headlines. Here are some interesting and thought provoking comments about the training from participants and stakeholders;
“The ongoing neonatal nursing mentorship training in Asaba has been a beautiful clinical experience with so much impartation of knowledge, excellence, and evidence-based nursing care for the small and sick newborns. It has really been inspiring, insightful, interesting, and worth the while, all thanks to our indefatigable mentor, Dr. Sue, and the COINN team” (Participant)
“My wonderful preceptor, thank you very much, I respect your knowledge, you’re truly a neonatal nurse specialist, you are calm and calculated, well done, in fact you are the first nurse I have met with such a knowledge, you are a great teacher, you make it look easy sir…” (Participant)
“Big thanks to COINN. The curriculum is quite rich and practical. Our nurses love it…I think we should enroll another set after this. It has been a successful one. Our preceptor is a mentor per excellence. She is really motivating the participants. I enjoy the brain teasers they do every night” (Consultant)
“The program is loaded with skills and knowledge. We appeal that this program be sustained” (Stakeholder)
Overall, the program is already a success as the preceptors work towards completing and accomplishing the set goals. The preceptors have adapted well, and the students enjoying the teaching and learning sessions.
See below some beautiful pictures of preceptors, participants, and stakeholders on site.
MORE EXCITING NEWS COMING UP SOON, STAY TUNED TO CoNP…
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