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Aga Khan University may start MSc in nursing from 2001

Karachi: The School of Nursing at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi is expected to start a Master of Science in Nursing Programme from year 2001.

The School of Nursing is already offering a three-year Registered Nurse (RN) Diploma, Pakistan's first post-RN Bachelor of Science in Nursing B.ScN degree,and a four-year generic (B.ScN) programme.

The School enrolled its first group of students for the generic B.ScN programme in 1997. This four-year Bachelor's degree course provides licence for practicing as a registered nurse in Pakistan.

Since its inception in 1980, the school has helped improve the status of nursing profession in the country by changing the public's perception of the role of nurses in health care. It has also contributed significantly towards the government's capacity for providing nursing care and education.

Increasing numbers of graduates of the B.ScN programme are moving into leadership positions in Pakistan, and are being accepted for advanced studies at major universities in North America and Europe.

Meanwhile, the Developmet of Women Health Professionals (DWHP), a bilateral programme between the goverments of Canada and Pakistan,is being executed through a partnership agreement between McMaster University and the Aga Khan University.

Funded through a 16.5 million Canadian dollars grant by CIDA, this five-year programme, which commenced in 1994, aims at training nursing professionals in leadership roles in government service to participate effectively in health planning and policy-making. It also assists identified nursing institutions and professional organisations in functioning more effectively.

The programme's research component focuses on human resource development and other issues relevant to the development of nursing in the country. Its research findings are helping improve nursing and health care systems in Pakistan.-PPI