David McCoy

Short courses for nurses: A half-baked response to complex training needs?

Volume: 
1
Series Name: 
Kwik Skwiz
Published by: 
Health Systems Trust

Letter of concern expressed by Steven Donohue regarding training methods - valuable for wider audience.Recently, facilitators of the Initiative for Sub-District Support in Bothaville (David McCoy and Martha Chao) organised a two-week clinical training programme for nurses, in response to a strongly felt need amongst nurses that they lacked both skills and knowledge for the clinical responsibilities expected of them. Given the urgency, it was decided to fast track a clinical training component. But other ISDS facilitators, notably Steven Donohue, disagreed with this strategy - arguing that short course training in isolation is too simplistic a response to a complex problem. Stevens objections were spelt out quite articulately in an open letter to all ISDS facilitators.

Health Systems Research in 1996

Series Name: 
HST Update
Published by: 
Health Systems Trust
During mid-September, the Health Systems Trust held a three day health systems research conference. This event provided the opportunity for health systems researchers from all over the country to present their research. One of the benefits of the conference came from the immense diversity of participants and their projects. There were new researchers, who were attempting research for the first time and highly experienced researchers with established international reputations. This allowed considerable exchange of ideas and networking between the participants. Projects ranged from those looking at the services of a single clinic or hospital, to those which looked at the whole health systems in South Africa. Despite this diversity, there was one theme that brought them all together. This was their common vision to provide relevant information to decision makers, which will ultimately transform South Africa's health services, to one which meets the needs of all South Africans.