UG Health Sciences College equips students with soft skills
The College of Health Sciences of the University of Ghana has introduced a soft skills and mindset development training programme for healthcare students to equip them with the interpersonal and professional competencies required for effective healthcare delivery.
The initiative is to enable products from the college, including medicine (MBChB), pharmacy, nursing, physiotherapy and public health professionals, to be empathetic to their service delivery and not only rely on their acquired knowledge.
The training is being facilitated by Nyansapo Concepts, a youth-focused leadership and professional development organisation dedicated to empowering young people with the mindset, skills and values needed to thrive in an increasingly competitive world.
The inaugural training for students of the college at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital brought together students at both pre-clinical and clinical levels for a full-day engagement featuring facilitator-led sessions, practical reflections, real-life experiences, open discussions and interactive scenario-based exercises designed to challenge assumptions and cultivate professional mindsets among future healthcare professionals.
Designers of the programme said it was aimed at bridging the gap between academic training and the ethical, interpersonal and leadership skills needed in real-world healthcare settings.
Compassionate professionals
The Co-founder of Nyansapo Concepts, Margaret Duroseau-Alexis, said the organisation was passionate about empowering young people with the mindset and critical thinking skills needed to excel in the healthcare profession and other sectors.
She said healthcare students were intentionally selected as beneficiaries because of the need to strengthen empathy and patient-centred communication among future healthcare professionals.
Mrs Duroseau-Alexis stated that negative experiences resulting from poor communication in healthcare facilities often affected patients’ confidence and emotional well-being.
“Sometimes when patients visit health facilities, the manner in which some healthcare professionals communicate with them can increase their anxiety and make an already difficult situation worse.
We, therefore, designed this programme to help students build the soft skills required to provide compassionate and effective care before entering the workforce,” she said.
She added that the programme sought to nurture healthcare professionals who were not only technically competent but also emotionally intelligent, empathetic and responsive to the needs of patients.
Developing future professionals
The Provost of the College of Health Sciences of the university, Professor Alfred Edwin Yawson, underscored the importance of soft skills in complementing technical and academic competencies.
He said that while healthcare professionals required strong technical knowledge, qualities such as communication, empathy, teamwork, leadership, adaptability and problem-solving were critical in distinguishing exceptional professionals.
He encouraged the students to make the most of the opportunity by actively participating in the programme and applying the lessons learnt to their personal and professional development, adding that employers increasingly sought individuals who possessed unique qualities beyond technical expertise.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Enfia Pharmaceuticals and Co-founder of Nyansapo, Liza Poku Boateng, explained that the programme formed part of the organisation's inaugural projects and expressed the hope that it would become an annual event in collaboration with the College of Health Sciences.
She said the organisation would continue to engage stakeholders and institutions to expand the programme's reach and contribute to the development of well-rounded healthcare professionals capable of meeting the demands of modern healthcare delivery.
One of the participants, Miriam Yakubu, described the programme as timely and impactful, indicating that it provided practical lessons that would help them improve their interactions with patients and colleagues in their future careers.
