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Expanding Nursing Clinical Skills in a Developing Country (Ghana)

Nurses in training engage virtually in a sequence of clinical experiences that deliver health services to a rural, resource-limited community in Ghana.  

Students will

  • engage in real-time with doctors, pharmacists, optometrists, health volunteers and/or community health nurses, and patients,  
  • explore details of region-specific diseases and health issues impacting individual and community health,
  • understand pharmacological practices and the application of traditional medicines,
  • learn how to conduct monitoring and evaluations in the context of a rural clinic,
  • develop an educational brochure to be used by patients with limited reading skills,
  • work to develop intercultural competencies throughout the course.


Nursing Program Learning Objectives
Students that successfully complete the Nursing/Clinical Program will be able to:

  • Explain how the social determinants of health impact the lives of people in rural and urban communities in a developing country in Africa.
  • Understand the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of common diseases identified in Ghanaian rural clinics.
  • Discuss with patients the proper use of medications, adverse drug reactions, and drug interactions of medications prescribed.
  • Educate patients and families on the prevention of infectious and chronic diseases.
  • Analyze data to monitor health trends and identify health risk factors unique to a single rural community in a developing country.
  • Design and develop an educational activity for a resource-limited rural community.


Resources provided in support of the virtual sessions and Modules

  • A bilingual, on-the-ground session facilitator will coordinate each virtual session with students.
  • A translator is provided in each virtual session in which students engage with patients and community healthcare workers. Doctors and medical staff are also bilingual.
  • Program materials are provided to all students.
  • Session scheduling that coordinates your course and our online sessions and clinics.

 

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

There are ten Modules in the Nursing/Clinical Program. Each Module is scheduled for two hours. 

 

Module 1 – Pre-Session activities:

  1. Watch the Global Brigades overview video.
  2. Watch a video on the Social Determinants of Health. 

Prepare questions for discussion during the Module 1 session.

 

Module 1: Global Brigades Overview; Social Determinants of Health Impacting the Lives of the Ghanaian People; the Community Selection Process; Reflection and Action (Contact time: 2 hour est.)

A presentation on Global Brigades (GB) and its NGO non-profit development programs. Discussion on the Social Determinant of Health that impacts the lives of the people in Ghana. Details of the community selection process are discussed. An exploration of key approaches to working with international communities: reflection, action, and intercultural competencies.

Module 1 – Self-paced follow-up activities:

Reflect on Global Brigades’ holistic model and the advantages of an integrated community development approach that impacts health.  Students explore the assigned community profile on our website. 

Students will read the article, “The Medical System in Ghana,” and prepare questions for discussion during the Module 2 session.

Module 2: The Ghana Medical and Healthcare System (Contact time: 2 hour est.)

Explore in detail the Ghana medical and healthcare system with a Ghanaian medical doctor. Students will draw parallels with and discuss differences between the Ghanaian medical and healthcare system and their own system.

Module 2 – Self-paced follow-up activities:

Read the following article, “The Prevalence of Non-Communicable Diseases in Ghana,” and prepare questions for discussion during the Module 3 session.

Module 3: Clinic Preparation 1 – Non-communicable Diseases (Contact time: 2 hour est.)

A Ghanaian medical doctor works with students to prepare them for the rural clinic sessions (Modules 6-8). The doctor will lead a discussion with students on conducting effective medical consultations in a rural setting. The most common non-communicable diseases, signs and symptoms, prevention, and treatments encountered in Ghana will be discussed. Students working in groups will analyze anonymized past patient data from Ghanaian rural clinics, and inventory the non-communicable diseases encountered.

Module 3 – Self-paced follow-up activities:

Read the article, “Epidemiologic Transition and the Double Burden of Disease in Ghana: What Do We Know at the Neighborhood Level?,” and prepare questions for discussion during the Module 4 session.

Module 4: Clinic Preparation 2 – Communicable Diseases (Contact time: 2 hour est.)

A Ghanaian medical doctor continues to work with students to prepare them for the rural clinic sessions (Modules 6-8). During this session, students will discuss the most common communicable diseases encountered in the country, common medications prescribed, and most effective prevention practices.

Module 4 – Self-paced follow-up activities:

Read the following articles on traditional medicines used in Ghana, and prepare questions for discussion during the Module 5 session.

  1. “Prevalence, Patterns and Beliefs about the Use of Herbal Medicinal Products in Ghana: A Multi-Centre Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study.”
  2. “Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine Used in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review.”
  3. “Ghana’s Herbal Medicine Industry: Prospects, Challenges and Ways Forward from a Developing Country Perspective.”

Module 5:  Clinic Preparation 3 – Traditional Medicine and Patient Consultation Guidelines; Working Session on the Educational Activity (Contact time: 2 hour est.)

A Ghanaian medical doctor discusses traditional medicines used in Ghana and reviews the client consultation guidelines for rural clinic sessions. Students begin to draft questions for a conversation with a Community Nurse in Module 9. 

Students work in groups to begin to develop an educational brochure to be used by patients with limited reading skills in the rural clinic.

Module 5 – Self-paced follow-up activities:

Students continue to develop their group’s educational brochure for clinic patients.

Module 6: Live Virtual Rural Clinic – 1 (Contact time: 2 hours est.)

Working with Ghanaian medical doctors and nurses, students work in rotation through stations focused on 1) triage, 2) medical consultations, 3) optometry and eye examinations, and 4) the pharmacy. 

Module 6 – Self-paced follow-up activities:

Reflections and observations from Rural Clinic Day 1.

Students continue to work on their group’s educational brochure for clinic patients.

Module 7:  Live Virtual Rural Clinic – 2 (Contact time: 2 hours est.)

Working with Ghanaian medical doctors and nurses, students continue to work in rotation through stations focused on 1) triage, 2) medical consultations, 3) optometry and eye examinations, and 4) the pharmacy. 

Module 7 – Self-paced follow-up activities:

Reflections and observations from Rural Clinic Day 2.

Students continue to work on their group’s educational brochure for clinic patients.

Module 8:  Live Virtual Rural Clinic – 3 (Contact time: 2 hours est.)

Working with Ghanaian medical doctors and nurses, students continue to work in rotation through stations focused on 1) triage, 2) medical consultations, 3) optometry and eye examinations, and 4) the pharmacy. 

Module 8 – Self-paced follow-up activities:

Reflections and observations from Rural Clinic Day 3.

Read the following article, “Examining Domains of Community Health Nurse Satisfaction and Motivation: Results from a Mixed-Methods Baseline Evaluation in Rural Ghana,” and continue to prepare questions for discussion with the Community Nurse during Module 9.

Module 9:  Discussion with a Community Nurse on the Social Determinants of Health that Impact their Patients (Contact time: 2 hours est.)

Students use questions developed in Module 5 to engage in a discussion with a Community Nurse on the Social Determinants of Health that impact rural clinic patients.

Module 9 – Self-paced follow-up activities:

Student groups submit their educational brochure for feedback and complete revisions.

Module 10: Brochure Presentation and Final Reflections (Contact time: 2 hour est.)

Student groups give brief presentations on their educational brochure for clinic patients, and reflect on the overall experience of the Program.