The 'sleeping elephant': The role of mentorship of critical care nurses in Zambia

Evaluation of an international health partnership to capacity build emergency, trauma and critical care nurse education and practice in Zambia: An experience from the field

AIM

To evaluate an international health partnership project to capacity build emergency, trauma and critical care nurse education and practice in Zambia.

BACKGROUND

Zambia continues to face a significant workforce challenge and rising burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to these, the Zambian Ministry of Health is investing in specialised nurses. Emergency, trauma and critical care nursing education and training were seen as one of the solutions. North-south partnerships have been identified as a force for good to capacity build and develop emerging specialities.

SOURCES OF EVIDENCE

We use an evaluative approach, which includes desk research, a rapid literature review and documentary data analysis from published papers, government reports and project documentation. Ethics committee approval was sought and gained in both Zambia and the UK.

DISCUSSION

A critical review of the evidence identified three key themes: challenges with changing education and practice, developing Zambian faculty for sustainability and the effect of an international health partnership project on both Zambia and UK. The outcomes from this project are multifaceted; however, the main achievement has been the implementation of emergency, trauma and critical care graduate programmes by the Zambian faculty.

CONCLUSION

This experience from the field outlines the benefits and limitations of a north-south partnership and the importance of transparency, shared ownership and collegiate decisions. It has facilitated knowledge exchange and sharing to capacity build emergency, trauma and critical care nursing.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE

Lessons learned may be applicable to other international nursing partnerships, these include the need for deep understanding of the context and constraints. Also, the importance of focusing on developing long-term sustainable strategies, based on research, education and practice was noted.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING POLICY

This paper outlines the importance of developing nursing education and practice to address the changing burden of disease in line with Zambian national policy, regional and international standards. Also, the value of international nursing partnerships for national and international nursing agendas was described.

Key steps and suggestions for a promising approach to a critical care mentoring program

In critical care medicine, where there is a demanding career with a problematic work-life balance, mentoring is an important support tool to grow professionally, creating a network of support throughout the career. The mentoring process consists of evidence-based steps to guide critical care mentors and mentees and pair them with each other according to the correct selection and matching of participants.In order to focus on the active role of a young intensivist selected as a mentee at any level and to support their success in a mentoring relationship, the NEXT Committee of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) developed 2012 a mentoring program.The critical steps of the mentoring program start from establishing a policy and program objectives, passing through the selection of participants, and matching with mentors up to the definition of the personal development plan supported by checklists, worksheets, and evaluation forms. The present manuscript provides key steps and tips for a good, essential based on our experience in the ESICM NEXT-Mentoring Program so that they guide for future mentoring programs conducted by other scientific societies. In addition, we discuss common challenges and how to avoid them.

Current State of Critical Care Nursing Worldwide: Current Training, Roles, Barriers, and Facilitators

This review provides insights on the current state of roles and responsibilities, on-the-job training, barriers, and facilitators of critical care nursing (CCN) practice. Some of the established roles and training of CCN were providing care for acutely ill patients, delivering expert and specialist care, working as a part of a multidisciplinary team, monitoring, and initiating timely treatment, and providing psychosocial support and advanced system treatment, especially in high-income countries. In low-resource settings, critical care nurses work as health care assistants, technical or ancillary staff, and clinical educators; manage medications; care for mechanically ventilated patients; and provide care to deteriorating patients.