The Education of Child Health Nurses: A Pioneer Programme in Hong Kong

Abstract

The Department of Nursing Studies and the Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong have co-organised a Diploma programme in Child Health Nursing which is a one year part-time programme and is the first of its kind in Hong Kong. In the past, the only local training programmes available were paediatric and neonatal intensive care courses started by the Department of Paediatrics in 1982. There was no local programme to provide a comprehensive education and training in child health nursing. In-house hospital surveys, and expression by the nurse managers of the Paediatric Units of the Hospital Authority hospitals indicated a significant demand for a training programme for paediatric nurses. With increase in public expectation for more and better services towards child health, nurses have a much greater and critical role to play in the health care setting. The launching of this course was timely to prepare nurses to take on this challenge. The programme aims to provide comprehensive knowledge in preparing nurses to care for well and sick children as well as their families in a holistic manner. It emphasizes not only on the physical care of the child but also the psychosocial and cultural aspects of health and illness. Furthermore, it aims at developing critical thinking and independent judgement of nurses in their care delivery in child health nursing. The paper describes the structure and development of this pioneer programme, the process of conducting the programme, and the evaluation and outcome of the programme. The future directions of the education of child health nurses is also highlighted.