The 56 nursing students from the 16th intake of the Ngaoundéré School of State-Registered Nurses have just handed over their final assignments. Over two days, from 7 to 8 September 2026, they presented their work.
The thesis defenses on Monday September 7 came to an end yesterday at the Ngaoundéré School for State-Certified Nurses. Under the watchful eye of the school’s director, Mohamadou Oumarou, these sessions took place in a generally calm atmosphere. According to the management, the topics addressed by the students who have reached the end of their training focus as much on clinical issues as on social ones.
The first defense was chaired by the delegate’s representative, who also served as chair of the examination board. The topic addressed by nursing student Rahainatou Abdoullahi relates to an issue close to the heart of the Minister of Public Health: universal health cover (UHC) and the Health Voucher. The student investigated the perceptions of pregnant women attending the Sabongari health center, located in the Ngaoundéré Urbain health district, regarding this scheme. Her work was deemed ‘very interesting’ and awarded a First Class Honors with permission to publish. She identified several challenges in the implementation of the Health Voucher and made recommendations to the health district, the relevant health facility and the regional public health delegation. Like her, her fellow student Souaibou Bello also focused on the Health Voucher, highlighting shortcomings in the scheme’s management of patient care. These include, in particular, a lack of training for staff responsible for recording services on the OpenImis and CamerHealth platforms, problems with internet access, and unexpected power cuts, all of which act as bottlenecks in the system.
To address this issue, he proposes ongoing staff training and energy self-sufficiency for the Ngaoundéré Urbain health district. This would streamline the recording of patient data.
Challenges facing future healthcare professionals
Beyond academic success, the director was keen to highlight the challenges facing these future nurses, foremost among whom is unemployment. Faced with a proven shortage of staff in healthcare facilities, the number of posts available in the civil service remains insufficient. The government does, however, plan to recruit more than 9,000 young civilian servants, particularly in the health sector, through competitive examinations held annually or every two years. The director also encourages graduates to turn to entrepreneurship or the private and faith-based sectors. Another difficulty highlighted by this official is the mismatch between theoretical training and the actual technical facilities on the ground, which are often lacking in basic equipment (sheets, blood pressure monitors, trolleys, sterilizers). Students, having completed work placements during their studies, are, however, said to be ‘psychologically prepared’ for this reality.
The director emphasized the need to develop ‘interpersonal skills’, pointing out that competence remains on three pillars: knowledge, technical skills and interpersonal skills. He criticized certain practices observed in the field, such as the poor treatment of patients or the illegal sale of medicines, and called on future nurses to prioritize a more human approach to care and to engage in continuous professional development.
Reaction : “The main challenge facing nurses today or rather, these future nurses – is our socio-economic situation.”
The thesis defenses began on 7 September at 9.00 am and concluded on 8 September. The first defense was chaired by the delegate’s representative, who acted as chair of the examination board. The topic focused on a very important issue of great relevance to the Minister of Public Health, namely universal health cover and the health voucher. The topic was the perceptions of pregnant women attending the Sabongari health center regarding the health voucher under the Ministry of Health’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) programme. It was a very important and interesting topic, with the delegate’s representative chairing the examination board. The student achieves a very commendable mark because she produced a highly interesting piece of work that can be put to good use. This research can be used by the Ministry of Health because she identified certain difficulties in the implementation of the CSU and the health voucher scheme, and she also made recommendations to the health district, the health training department and the regional public health delegation. It is, therefore, a topic that was very interesting and useful for all the various stakeholders involved in the CSU and the health voucher scheme. The health sector faces numerous challenges.
The main challenge facing nurses today – or future nurses – is our socio-economic situation, employment, and youth unemployment. You see, there is a real staff shortage in healthcare facilities, across our various healthcare centers, but the number of posts or vacancies in the civil service is not sufficient to fill all these staff shortages. So, there is a mismatch between the number of trained nurses seeking employment and the staff shortages at these various healthcare centers. We hope that, over time, this will improve, as the State, through the Ministry, plans to recruit over 9,000 young civilian servants, particularly in the health sector, and we
also hold competitive examinations every year or every two years to recruit state-registered nurses and nursing assistants. However, it is fair to say that the number is still insufficient compared to the number trained each year. So, the main challenge is employment, and we also encourage them to become entrepreneurs. The private sector is also recruiting.
They are asked to undertake further training and voluntary work placements. Once they have developed certain skills, they can also apply to private or faith-based healthcare organizations to find employment. But their main challenge remains the problem of unemployment. We are aware of the realities on the ground; this is particularly true when it comes to technical facilities. We provide them with all the necessary training and equip them with the required theoretical and practical knowledge.
Now, out in the field, they’re facing difficulties with the technical facilities. Perhaps you’ve learned how to make a bed, but when you arrive on the ground, you realize that some beds have no sheets, some equipment is missing – such as the blood pressure monitor – the trolley is missing, as are the elastic bands, the sterilizer and the autoclave. You won’t easily find all that equipment in the field. So it’s a major challenge for us: on the one hand, we have to present them with the ideal scenario, and on the other, we have to find alternative solutions in the field. We prepare them; they’re psychologically prepared because they’ve done placements during their studies. They’ve done placements in the city’s health facilities; they already know the realities on the ground and what to expect. They’re psychologically prepared to face these challenges. They’ll adapt over time and undertake ongoing training to adjust. The advice we can give them as a director – you know, when it comes to technical competence – boils down to three things: knowledge, skills and interpersonal skills. These are the three elements that make staff competent.
Here, we have passed on knowledge and practical skills to them, but they must also develop their interpersonal skills at their own level. Although we have provided them with some guidance through courses on ethics and professional conduct, we see in practice how our nursing staff treat patients: poor patient care, the illegal sale of medicines, and a lack of a human touch in care. All in all, these are the poor practices we observe in the field. Students are therefore called upon to truly develop their interpersonal skills once they are working in the field, as well as to undertake continuing professional development and to take an active interest in the activities carried out on the ground, so that they can learn even more from senior staff or those with greater experience who are already working in the field. This is the advice we give to these students. In the healthcare sector, it is the same as for all civil servants or state employees. The healthcare sector cannot make you rich, but it
can enable you to live comfortably. However, it cannot make you rich. So, if you want to be rich, the healthcare sector is not the place for you. You must look elsewhere. We offer this sort of advice so that, when the time comes in the field, they will be competent healthcare workers or ‘healthcare soldiers’ who bring a strong sense of humanity to the care they provide.
