Welcome
The Caribbean has made great strides in the development of nursing education over the last 50 years. However, it is recognized that the traditional approach to nursing education in many Caribbean countries needs to be transformed, in keeping with current international trends. The UWI School of Nursing, Mona, as a leader in nursing education in the Caribbean is in the forefront of developments not only to transform nursing education but to transform the image and practice of nursing. The School has been designated the PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Development in the Caribbean.
The School of Nursing offers rigorous world-class undergraduate and graduate programmes based on innovative models of nursing education. We currently enroll approximately 1,200 students in our baccalaureate and master’s programmes and have launched the first PhD Nursing programme in the Caribbean region in the 2011-2012 academic year. Our main aim is to prepare graduates who are nurse leaders and thinkers and who are clinically competent and ‘career ready’.
Over the past few years, the school has taken on many exciting initiatives including a new building that incorporates expanded instructional and recreational spaces for students, a clinical skills laboratory with state-of-art simulation equipment and a new suite of offices for academic staff.
The School has expanded to Western Jamaica Campus (WJC) which has required the introduction of new forms of technology such as streaming to enable shared learning across campuses. We are developing new pathways to achieve registered nurse status and a number of new graduate programmes to expand the cadre of Advanced Nurse Practitioners.
One of UWISON’s major goals is to advance research and scholarly productivity to position the School as a national and regional centre of excellence in nursing research, knowledge development and innovation that address nursing and wider health issues in the Caribbean. Many academic staff are actively involved in research on a range of areas, including HIV/AIDs, Asthma, substance abuse, violence, stress and are developing studies on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). Research capacity is being built through interdisciplinary and international collaborations.
It is truly an exciting time to be at the UWI School of Nursing.
Joanna Bennett PhD, BA (Hons), RN, RM
Head of School (2009 -2013)
Director: PAHO/WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing & Midwifery Developments in the Caribbean.
