About

About The UWI School of Nursing, Mona

The University of the West Indies School of Nursing (UWISON) advances nursing education across Jamaica and the Caribbean through a comprehensive suite of undergraduate and graduate programmes, targeted micro-credentials, regional and international partnerships.

Our undergraduate portfolio includes a four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN), offered at Mona and the Western Jamaica Campus with expanded access through franchise partnerships with Excelsior Community College, Brown’s Town Community College, and Knox Community College in Jamaica, as well as with Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College and the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College Division of Nursing Education regionally.

In addition, we offer a Post-RN BScN programme - a fully online, self-paced option designed for registered nurses across Jamaica, the wider Caribbean, and the diaspora. This programme has expanded access to baccalaureate nursing education and continues to serve the region with distinction.

The Master of Science in Nursing (MScN) offers four specializations-Nursing Administration, Nursing Education, Family Nurse Practitioner, and Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Each designed to prepare graduates for doctoral study and leadership in nursing education, administration, and advanced clinical practice. The UWISON also develops PhD scholars to advance nursing science, and strengthen leadership, and policy across the region.

The UWISON is also the proud home of the Pre‑Hospital Emergency Medical Services (PHEMS) micro‑credential, which prepares first responders to deliver life‑saving interventions. This programme reflects our alignment to local and regional healthcare priorities.

We are honoured to be designated as a Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for the Development of Nursing and Midwifery in the Caribbean, and as a Best Practice Spotlight Organization for Evidence-Based Nursing Education. These recognitions affirm our leadership in advancing nursing and midwifery across the region.

 

 

Vision

The vision is that the UWI School of Nursing, Mona will be recognized regionally and internationally for providing excellence in nursing education through innovative programmes that are responsive to global health challenges and for generating high quality interdisciplinary and international research.

Mission

The mission of the UWI School of Nursing, Mona, is to lead the Caribbean region in delivering undergraduate and postgraduate evidence-based nursing education which reflects international standards; engaging students and nurses/midwives in scientific and scholarly inquiry and critical thinking; facilitating the transfer of knowledge and skills that foster caring throughout the life cycle and the wellness-illness continuum; and promoting excellence in evidence-based practice in nursing/midwifery.

Values

The core values of the UWI School of Nursing, Mona (UWISON) are excellence; integrity; caring; mutual
respect; loyalty and commitment to the standards of UWI, UWISON, and the nursing/midwifery
professions; professionalism; and consistent quality in service and evidence-based practice.

The UWISON shares the goals of the University in teaching, research and community services. It's purposes are to:

  1. Prepare undergraduate and graduate degree level professional nurses for the Caribbean, in order to improve the quality and quantity of nursing and health care that are available to the peoples of the region.
  2. Collaborate with other nursing/health and selected institutions and agencies, with a view to strengthening the health care services of the Caribbean.
  3. Provide leadership and direction for the progressive development of the nursing profession in the region.
  4. Develop and maintain mutually beneficial contacts/affiliations with relevant regional and international institutions/agencies.
  5. Pursue a research agenda.

 

Aims of UWISON

  1. Provide a state of the art centre for scholarship, research and clinical specialization.
  2. Prepare motivated nurses for leadership within the health care and related services of the region and global economy.
  3. Provide appropriate, stimulating, practical experiences in teaching, administration/management, clinical nursing and research to develop high- powered practitioners.
  4. Deepen, strengthen, and broaden knowledge and skills in clinical and functional nursing while facilitating the development of effective critical thinkers who are geared to apply evidence-based practice in their areas of specialty.
  5. Provide stimulating opportunities to develop creative, transferable skills in clinical specialization, teaching, administration/management and research.
  6. Provide a unique baccalaureate programme to prepare caring nurses for beginning practice in multifaceted health care environments and to facilitate eventual advancement to graduate education.
  7. Engage graduate nursing students in critical analysis of national, regional and global nursing and health issues/problems, while exploring solutions within economic, geopolitical and social environments.
  8. Expose graduate students to a variety of teaching and learning experiences/environments through multi-disciplinary educational and clinical interactions.
  9. Strengthen/foster personal, interpersonal, and professional values and attitudes through continuing education with particular reference to individuals, their families, the community, and the health team.
  10. Integrate ethical principles, legal accountability, and accepted responsibility in the delivery of evidence-based nursing care to individuals, families, and community.