The African Palliative Care Association (APCA) in partnership with FHSSA (previously the Foundation for Hospices in Sub Saharan Africa) provides a limited number of scholarships each year for Palliative Care Training opportunities for nurses. The Scholarship fund was established by a generous anonymous donation in honour of Kath Defilippi, the founding Board Chair of the African Palliative Care Association to recognise her career achievements as a nurse in hospice and palliative care in Africa.
Scholarships are awarded up to a maximum of US$ 4,000 through a competitive application process once a year. APCA and FHSSA give priority to requests of Registered and Enrolled nurses to pursue formal palliative care training in Africa. They are also willing to potentially consider one scholarship for a distance Learning Masters programme, when necessary for the career objective of the student (i.e. Registered or Enrolled Nurse) and in line with palliative care development in Africa. Application requests will also be considered for travel for palliative care conferences judged to be of interest to the development of palliative care in Africa.
The role of the nurse in palliative care is not limited to the provision of care only. Nurses also play a vital role in education as well as mentorship for students, patients, families and community health workers. However, despite this, the inadequate incorporation of palliative care into the pre-service (undergraduate) training of nurses, the lack of clear career pathways for nurses interested in specializing in palliative care and lack of recognition of palliative care qualifications by local ministries of health and education continues to be a challenge. As palliative care gets integrated into the Nurse’s curricula across Africa, an effort being supported through APCA, the need for qualified lecturers and tutors in this discipline has become obvious in countries like Kenya, Malawi and Botswana among others.
The Scholarship fund will support contribution of up to US$4,000 per person for palliative care education and training at recognized institutions in Africa for Enrolled and Registered Nurses. Training programmes which the Scholarship supports include:
•Bachelor of Science in Palliative Care (Degree)
•Distance Learning Diploma in Palliative Care
•Palliative care initiators course
•Nurse prescribers’ training
Additionally, the fund will make available sponsorship of a maximum of US$500 per person for approximately 5 nurses to attend and make a presentation to targeted national as well as international conferences on palliative care with an objective of improving their presentation skills and giving them an opportunity to interact with other Palliative Care providers. A contribution of around USD $4,000 to one distance learning Masters training in palliative care may be considered in the year.
Scholarship timelines:
•Announcement of Scholarship Fund for 2012- 15th February 2012
•Upload material on the APCA website– 15th February 2012
•Application deadline closes: -30th April 2012
•Selection process completed:-15th June 2012
•Candidates informed: 30th June 2012
•Scholarships Awarded-06th July 2012
For further information, visit the link.
