Looking forward to the East African Countries’ Collaboration in Nursing and Midwifery Education, Practice and Legislation

Abstract

In 2014, the East African Community (EAC) partner states began to explore the possibility of harmonizing nursing and midwifery education, practice and legislation. A study to examine harmonization was commissioned and variations in nursing and midwifery education, practice and legislation were discussed among academic institutions in the region. These variations included: admission requirements; duration of training for the same academic programs; and outcome competencies of the graduates. These differences have hindered the labor mobility of nurses and midwives in the region and provide solid rationale for the reciprocal recognition of nurses and midwives in the EAC through the harmonization process. The Global innovations in Nursing and Midwifery Education, Research and Practice Conference held in January 2015 in Kigali Rwanda provided an opportunity for University Deans in the East African region to dialogue and examine possible areas of collaboration between academic institutions in the East African (EA) region using a sustainable partnership model for the advancement of nursing and midwifery education, research and practice. This paper discusses the possibilities to achieve an East African collaboration through adapting Collaborative Change: An Interdependent Model of Nursing Education and experiences from the Norads Program for Master’s Studies (NOMA) Regional Masters in Nursing initiative. Keywords: nursing, midwifery, education, research, clinical practice, partnership, East Africa