Nurses play a critical role in patient care before, during, and after surgery. But in low-resource settings, they often lack access to high-quality training, leadership opportunities, and quality improvement initiatives. This gap can contribute to poor surgical outcomes.
A Lifebox survey conducted with perioperative nurses and surgical teams highlighted that nurses want to be more confident and competent in the areas of leadership, research, communication and advocacy.
LIfebox Nursing Leadership for Surgical Excellence Fellows, Mentors, and team, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
“Doctors cannot operate without a nurse. Anesthetists cannot intubate without assistance from a nurse. Cleaners cannot ensure that the hospital is clean and infection free without the guidance of nurses. After a surgeon or the anesthetist is done [in the operating room], they will leave the care of the patient to the nurse. Even before surgery, preparation for the patients is handled by the nurse. Nursing is the core foundation when it comes to health.”Belinda Karimi, Nurse Fellow, Nursing Leadership for Surgical Excellence Program, Lifebox
About the Nursing Leadership for Surgical Excellence (NLSE) program
The Nursing Leadership for Surgical Excellence (NLSE) program is designed to improve perioperative nursing care and patient outcomes in low- and middle-income countries, through fellowships that build clinical leadership and quality-improvement skills.
Each NLSE Fellow completes evidence-based training with mentorship. They then lead a quality improvement project by identifying existing care gaps in their health facilities at the surgical ward, operating room, or post-anesthesia care unit (PACU). They address the gaps by applying current and evidence based interventions
The NLSE fellowship runs over nine months
Where we work
We have implemented the NLSE project in 4 facilities in 2 countries, Ethiopia & Rwanda:
- Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Ethiopia
- St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College, Ethiopia
- St. Peter’s Specialized Hospital, Ethiopia
- Butaro Level Two Teaching Hospital, Rwanda
