Director General

As the wheels of health care reform move, so should the training curricula for health workers. Various authors have a number of times stated that the nurse is the single most important frontline health worker in a clinic setting. Without the nurses intervention the health care centre/clinic cannot function adequately. It is therefore critical that nurse education and the supply of nurses form an integral part of teh transformation of health services in South Africa. This months issue is dedicated to nurse training with particular focus on the district health system (DHS). In a nutshell the DHS is the best vehicle for delivering primary health care (PHC) since it promotes collaboration between all sectors and reduces fragmentation and duplication of services. Questions such as, are nurses adequately prepared for current health care reforms? are considered in this Update. The current gaps in training, suggestions and recommendations to address these are revisited. Selected key participants in nurse education from the level of the South African Nursing Council (SANC) to nurses themselves, share their views and experiences in this Update.

In less than 6 months from now, South Africans will return to the polls as they did about 5 years ago. The mood will surely be different, as excitement with the dawn of the new democracy in 1994 will be replaced by a more introspective assessment by each voter as to what benefit s/he derived over the first 5 years. The promise of restructuring the health services into a more equitable and effective one will not escape such scrutiny.