Wisconsin International University College Ghana has established an all-new ultramodern nursing demonstration laboratory. 

The state-of-the-art facility houses human simulated mannequins which would serve as a teaching and learning tool to equip students with relevant skills and knowledge for nursing practice in Ghana. 

The nursing demonstration laboratory is an addition to already existing facilities, including Broadcasting Studio, Law Moot Court, IT laboratory, and a recording studio present at the university. 

The cutting-edge nursing skills laboratory houses modern simulators among other medical equipment, which are first of their kind on the African continent. 

The high fidelity mannequins mimic human emotions and respond to stimuli providing students hands-on skills and understanding of the human body. 

President of Wisconsin International University College, Professor Obeng Mireku, appealed to government and traditional authorities involved in policy making to support local initiatives which seek to improve the lives of Ghanaians. 

“We can support initiatives such as this by creating an enabling environment that is conducive for institutions to thrive. 

“And also resourcing us when possible so that we can create centers of providing excellence which attract international students. 

“In doing so, we as Ghanaians will build a healthcare system and train a healthcare workforce that will be the envy of the world and also boost medical tourism as a significant contributor to Ghana’s development,” he said. 

Prof. Obeng Mireku further revealed the university hopes to construct a medical school and teaching hospital to produce world-class medical professionals locally. 

“Plans are far advanced to establish a world-class medical school and a teaching hospital to serve the Ashanti, middle and northern parts of Ghana on this campus. 

“The university is committed to exposing our nursing and midwifery students to best practices in Healthcare and to producing outstanding healthcare professionals to serve Ghana and the world,” he said. 

Available data indicate Ghana has an estimated one nurse per a population of 839 patients.

The ratio represents an improvement of WHO’s recommendation of one nurse per 1,000 patients. 

However, Nana Hiahene Professor Boakye Agyei Woahene II, who represented the Asantehene, indicated the government must establish a thriving environment to refrain foreigners from poaching these local healthcare professionals abroad.

“We could use more in other areas such as nurse practitioner training and physician assistants who can make up for the short call in physician numbers. 

“We can do so much to relieve the burden. There are so many doctors outside our shores than within the shores. 

“This is because we are not creating the enabling environment to make people come in and practice in our public institutions or private setups. 

“We can’t train nurses and lose them to health centres abroad, who poach our nurses especially when the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“This brain drain can be stopped by providing our professionals especially the nurses with the requisite tools to work, giving them continuous development programs and competitive salaries and other incentives. 

“Because when we train them we have to think about what they’re going to do after their training so they don’t go for visas and skip town,” he said.