Nursing Schools and Programs in Ghana

Nursing Studies in Ghana

Independence Square, Accra, GhanaFor nursing students looking to enhance their educational experience by studying abroad in a foreign country, Ghana is the perfect destination, one that is vastly different than some of the more traditional study abroad locales in Europe and North America.  The first African country to achieve independence from colonialism, Ghana broke ties with the United Kingdom in 1957.  Since then, the West African nation has steadily made strides towards evolving and strengthening its economy, improving its system of education and elevating the standard of living for most of its residents.  With a stable society and English as its official language, Ghana is an ideal place to visit for foreign students and an excellent launching point for exploring some of the neighboring African countries such as Ivory Coast, Togo and Burkina Faso, among others.  Accra is the capital city of Ghana and also the most populous.

Nursing Education in Nursing

Like in most countries, qualified nurses are consistently in high demand in Ghana.  Consequently, nursing education is a very important and popular field of study at Ghanaian colleges and universities.  One school offering variety of nursing education programs on campus is Korle Bu Nurses Training College, a public tertiary health institution located in the populous and modernized Greater Accra Region of the country.  The activities at Korle Bu are supervised by the Ministry of Education. The institution is accredited by the National Accreditation Board, and all activities, curricula and examinations are regulated by the Nurses and Midwifery Council of Ghana (NMC).  Upon having successfully completed a three-year undergraduate nurse’s training program at Korle Bu College, graduates are awarded a diploma by the University of Ghana. 
Following the initial three-years of basic education and training, nurses in Ghana are urged to further their education by focusing their studies on a particular nursing specialty, including those that lead to careers in community nursing, ophthalmologic nursing, pre-operative nursing, ENT nursing, public health nursing, critical care nursing, nurse anesthesiology, and community oral health.

Foreign students may be admitted to the nursing education program on the basis of their qualifications from their home country, for which the West African Examination Council shall determine equivalences. All programs are conducted in English, and proficiency of that language is expected of all applicants.

Why Study Abroad in Ghana

While not the typical study-abroad destination, Ghana does possess an excellent system of higher education, especially in the field of nursing.  However, the scope of a student’s education while visiting this fascinating country is far from being limited to the four walls of a classroom.  Ghana is a place that affords an unlimited number of opportunities for personal growth and enhancement—learning the culture, customs and traditions shared by the local people—and even more chances for exploration and sightseeing.  To illustrate this, below we have listed just a few of the primary reasons to choose Ghana for your study abroad journey.

Vast History

Ghana boasts scores of fascinating museums and treasured historical sites, which together allow students to learn more about the country and its past.  Students visiting the city of Cape Coast, for example, can visit both the Cape Coast Castle and Elmina Castle, two castles-turned-museums that were once popular stops on the trans-Atlantic slave trade.  Inside they will learn an important, yet hard to fathom lesson of history by witnessing firsthand the ugliness of the barbaric slavery practice, represented by the musty dungeons, slave vessels, old cannons and secret chambers that comprise the interior of these two houses of horror.

Bountiful Culture and Lifestyle

Ghana is a very diverse country, made up of people from a wide variety of ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds.  What they all have in common, however, is a zest for life and a friendly nature about them, and nowhere is this more evident than in the many laid-back villages you’re likely to encounter during your stay.  While there are certainly no shortage of bustling cities in the country, nearby you will almost always find one of these cozy villages in which to retreat.  These relaxing regions, characterized by sleepy days and celebratory nights, take on a type of Rastafarian vibe that makes it easy to talk feely and deeply with the locals about their culture, customs and traditions.  Residents here are also a great source of knowledge when it comes to Ghana’s most popular sights and attractions—Information from a local’s standpoint that’s not readily available in most travel books.

Tasty and (Totally) Unique Cuisine

Last but not least is the tasty and truly unique cuisine of Ghana.  While every country you visit is bound to have a cuisine for which it is known, there is often an overlap of ingredients between the foods of those countries and the foods to which you are accustomed to easting at home.  This is rarely the case in Ghana. Here you will encounter foods that are truly unique to the Ghanaian region, including the root-based dishes known as fu-fu, banku and kenkey.  Soups are made with a rich, spicy and very delectable peanut base, and the local fruit has a presence and taste like nothing you have ever sampled, including the evo fruit, a giant prickly melon-looking fruit which is both fluffy and fizzy on the inside.