A Road to Excellence: The History of Basic Nursing Education at the University Hospital of the West Indies, Jamaica, 1949-2006

A Road to Excellence encapsulates the establishment of a school nursing at the University Hospital of the West Indies and the progression of the basic nursing education programme from an apprenticeship system based on the British model to a partial student status system. The quality of the leadership throughout the period has been highlighted. The authors chronicle the influence of the Jamaica General Trained Nurses Association/Nurses Association of Jamaica, the regulating role of the Nursing Council, and show how support from regional and international agencies contributed to changes in the administration and integrity of the curriculum. The flexibility of the teaching staff in adapting to current educational technologies and the response of the students as evidenced by their performance in the registration examinations are presented. Aspects of operations and functioning integral to the maintenance of standards in a school are also covered.

The authors all graduated from the University Hospital of the West Indies School of Nursing and had a history of service with many local and international nursing associations, and they have brought to this work their insiders’ understanding of the school’s journey from its inception.