Nursing Council re-accredits MKU to continue training

Mount Kenya University has been re-accredited by the Nursing Council of Kenya to continue training nursing students.

The Institution has been offering Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree for the last 12 years and has been subject to regular reviews by the Nursing Council to confirm that the university’s facilities, including laboratories, meet the set requirements.

The review is undertaken every five years. The Registrar Nursing Council of Kenya Dr. Lister Onsongo presented the re-accreditation certificate to MKU Vice Chancellor Prof Deogratious Jaganyi.

The re-accreditation followed a review process, during which the Nursing Council of Kenya inspected the University and affiliated hospitals last year.

“MKU was granted approval to training nursing students in 2012 and the first re-accreditation was conducted in 2017, our nursing programme has produced over 1,400 qualified nurses,” he said.

MKU has also endeavoured to secure opportunities for healthcare graduates locally and abroad through partnerships with German and Austrian institutions.

Already, more than 80 MKU-trained nursing graduates have started work in the two countries. Among the institutions that MKU has partnered with include Hochschule Koblenz University of Applied Sciences in Germany and Lebenshilfe Tirol of Austria.

“This re-accreditation underscores our unwavering commitment to providing world-class nursing education,” said Prof Jaganyi.

Dr Onsongo said accreditations means that Kenyan nursing graduates can work anywhere in the world.

“Nursing training in Kenya is anchored under the International Council of Nurses, where Kenyan nurses are eligible to practice nursing in any part of the world,” she said.

“After five years the council will inspect MKU again for another reaccreditation. There are ultra-modern skills laboratories at the university worth international standards, fully equipped with even high-fidelity mannequins. This is an investment worth nursing training.”

She added that demand for nursing studies has gone up owing to growth in Kenyan population as well as increased demand for healthcare professionals internationally.

Onsongo added that the Nursing Council would look into the application by MKU to increase the number of nursing students that it can train. “We recognize that the demand to train nurses in Kenya has gone high and institutions have to be in tandem with this demand,” she said.