Zambia

THE S.T.A.B.L.E. PROGRAM

INTERNATIONAL TRIP REPORT

S.T.A.B.L.E. Learner Course: November 15 and November 21, 2022
University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia, Africa

Course Instructor: Geralyn Sue Prullage, DNP, APN, NNP-BC, University of Zambia and University Teaching Hospital

ABOUT THIS EDUCATIONAL OFFERING:
I am the director of neonatal education for the Council of International Neonatal Nurses (COINN; https://www.coinnurses.org/) and I always travel within their name. But I was asked by Dr. Kunda and the University of Zambia to come and mentor NNP students.

The purpose of this trip:

Provide mentorship to the 1st and 2nd year NNP students. This is a brand-new program, and they have no developed mentorship program. I was to help develop the mentorship program and felt that STABLE should be part of what they needed to know. Several of the students had heard of STABLE and they were excited to have the content available to them.

STABLE: Our Instructors are often interested in knowing more about the region you visited. Please describe the community where S.T.A.B.L.E. was taught.

Lusaka Zambia is the capital of the country. Millions of people live in Zambia. The country has a neonatal mortality rate that has risen over the last few years to 27 deaths per 1000 live births. The University of Zambia trains doctors and nurses. They created a NNP program in 2020 which started with 7 nurses. It is the only program on the African continent that is training at the Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) levels. I worked with those nurses and six 1st years (now 2nd years). They currently have six new 1st years from Botswana, Malawi and Zambia. We are helping the University teach these students. S.T.A.B.L.E. Lead Instructor Wakako M. Eklund DNP, APRN, NNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN and I will offer STABLE via live Zoom to those students so that they too can be certified in the S.T.A.B.L.E. Learner course.

STABLE: Describe some of the nursing and medical challenges being faced by the S.T.A.B.L.E. course attendees with regard to provision of day-to-day neonatal care

The University Teaching Hospital (UTC) has several struggles.

• No working CPAP machines they are using “homemade” CPAP.
• Four ventilators and at any given time only one or two were working.
• Ability to do lab but dependent on parents paying before the labs were drawn.
• No transport mechanism. Each district hospital transferred with a staff from that hospital in a general ambulance. From the L&D unit the neonate was generally transported by a midwife or student

STABLE: How do you envision The S.T.A.B.L.E. Program will help the health care providers you taught?

The students were very excited to learn about labs especially gases. From the first day I got there it was something they asked for repeatedly. The course helped solidify their learning.

STABLE: How many students attended your course and what were their credentials?

We started with 14 students and 9 finished. They had trouble with work schedules and attending both days.

MATERIALS DONATED FROM THE S.T.A.B.L.E. PROGRAM FOR YOUR COURSE:
S.T.A.B.L.E. Learner Course Slides
Physical Exam and Gestational Age Assessment Slide Program