Ghana is undergoing rapid social, economic, political and demographic changes. These changes require adequate and skilled manpower in all sectors of the economy including the health sector. At the time the programme was initiated, the country was faced with a problem of shortage of skilled manpower resources, especially shortage of nurses in the health sector. In this era characterized by advances in technology and complex health systems, the nursing service of Ghana needs more knowledgeable and articulate nurse leaders, who can refine nursing roles and meet the changing health needs and problems of healthcare. Nursing education today has to deliver viable programmes which address specialized client and institutional needs and specifically identify nursing roles within the larger health care system.
The School of Nursing in the University of Cape Coast was set up to produce nurses with appropriate academic background and professional skill as part of overall national strategies to bridge the nurse patient gap in the country. The Department of Nursing was established as part of the process of developing a College of Health Sciences by the Faculty of Science of the University in 2005. This initiative was the brain child of the Dean of Faculty of Science, Prof. Victor Gadzekpo. The first batch of students were admitted in September 2005. Dr. Mate Siakwa was assigned as the coordinator in February, 2006 and subsequently as the Head of Department in July2006. This Department developed to become the School of Nursing and Midwifery in 2014.
