Page 5 - DUT Conduit Sept 2023

DEPARTMENT OF NURSING NEWLY INTRODUCED SHORT COURSE, INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL HOPES TO
BRING CHANGE TO THE COMMUNITY THROUGH HYGIENE
Sibahle Ngcobo
Pictured: Nurses at the prestigious event.
Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) is a newly introduced short course under the Durban University ofTechnology (DUT) Department of Nursing.Infection Prevention and Control short course has 10 registered students and this is the first group of students that started in June 2023.The course takes about 16 weeks to be completed.
IPC is aimed at providing a safe environment for communities, patients, workers and healthcare staff. “The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic managed to bring to the foreground the conversation that infection prevention and control (IPC) experts have been pushing for decades regarding the control of the spread of infections,” explained Dr Naranjee, who is from the nursing department.
Dr Naranjee continued by saying that there is a call for action for IPC to be prioritised, given the resources needed and provided with contextualised evidence.The IPC short course has been developed as a form of response to improve health outcomes and prevent morbidity, mortality and to decrease health care costs and possible litigation.
The nursing department was approached by the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Prof G Mchunu, to implement a programme using Project Based Learning and Design Thinking. The IPC course was developed as a response to this call.
IPC is included in all curricula for nursing programmes.The IPC short course is specially developed for and aimed at Infection Control personnel and Risk officers working in healthcare facilities, organisations and the community.
“The purpose of the training is to outline a strategic framework to prevent, reduce and control the development
of infections including improving patient/worker/community safety and health outcomes. Effective Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) programmes are the cornerstone for combating infections. IPC is unique in the field of work, patient safety and quality universal health coverage (UHC) since it affects the safety of workers and patients. IPC programmes are therefore a fundamental element for safe, high quality, people-centred and integrated care,” said Dr Naranjee.
The short course is trying to achieve its impact in terms of ENVISION2023 through;
SOCIETY: That leads to mutually beneficial collaborations, the practical application of knowledge and future-ready graduates. An Engaged University: Be engaged and productive local citizens that establish mutually beneficial partnerships
• The information shared will be mutually beneficial for both the students and the recipients.
• This also allows for graduates to pass on both knowledge and practical skills they acquire from their learning programmes and to use these skills in real life situations.
• The resources and tools students use are credible, effective and allow for collaboration with one another. It enhances their end product and ability to share with the outside community.
ADAPTIVE GRADUATES:
• This course will develop graduates with the acumen to initiate and/or respond to change. They will identify common problems, trends, new and current infections and changing patterns of diseases.
• Students will develop appropriate and relevant interventions required to deal with these and for future prevention and control.
SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES
Innovative Curricula and Research: Provide curricula that stimulate creativity and innovation to generate new knowledge and solutions.
• The students will demonstrate their knowledge and skills
by conducting projects with a real audience.
• As a result, students develop deep content knowledge as well as critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and
communication skills
STEWARDSHIP: By living DUT values and principles within a culture of shared responsibility and accountability, and embracing creativity,
LivedValues: Nurture a people-centred culture that embodies our values and principles.
• The knowledge and experience gained from this course will equip students with essential skills for life.
In this short course, students identify problems and issues related to IPC.Then develop solutions and initiate projects to address these problems.They identify relevant organisations where projects will be implemented.The IPC students visited Edu Bears Playing Centre and Preschool in August 2023 for their hand washing campaign. Their next community project will be in October 2023.
“This is the first time that I am using a Project Based Learning approach. It’s been an interesting learning experience for me as well. I found that traditional learning has played a predominant role where we transmit knowledge while students act as receptors of the information. Consequently, it is challenging for students to fully engage in educational practices, which may lead to a superficial understanding of knowledge. Furthermore, universities are more directed on the development of students’ academic skills rather than professional skills or transferable skills.Thus, this might cause a gap between what students learn at the university and what they need in the workplace. To change this situation, we afforded students the opportunity to participate in real problem-solving and knowledge creation in authentic professional contexts.This learning approach needs students to work cooperatively, collaborate towards fruitful project creation, and come up with research results from their own work.
“In this way they transfer their knowledge and skills into real world situations,” concluded Dr Naranjee.
Pictured: Nursing staff and students at EDU BEARS Playing Centre and Preschool.
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