From Classroom to Bedside: The Nursing Competency Enhancement Program at ECUSTA

ECUSTA Higher Learning Institute is proud to be one of three institutions hosting the Nursing Competency Enhancement Program (NCEP), a national initiative led by the Federal Ministry of Health (MoH) of Ethiopia. The program, which began on August 3 and runs for around five months, is designed to strengthen the clinical skills and professional capabilities of practicing nurses across the country.

NCEP is a structured, competency-based educational framework built on the principle that nurses should demonstrate true mastery in authentic clinical settings. To achieve this, it brings together four learning approaches: classroom instruction that provides an advanced theoretical foundation and promotes evidence-based practice; simulation-based education that allows trainees to work through high-fidelity scenarios without risk to patients; skills laboratory practice that builds hands-on procedural mastery; and supervised workplace learning, where nurses apply and are evaluated on what they have learned in real clinical environments.

The Ministry of Health is delivering the program in partnership with three designated tertiary academic institutions: ECUSTA Higher Learning Institute, St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College, and Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH).

As one of the three host institutions selected by the Ministry, ECUSTA manages the full training pipeline for its assigned national cohort of 36 practicing nurses, who were selected from healthcare facilities across Ethiopia. The institute facilitates the academic coursework, simulation modules, and skills lab sessions, while its partner, ALERT Comprehensive Specialized Hospital (ALERT CSH), supervises, mentors, and assesses the trainees during their clinical rotations.

Day-to-day coordination of the program at ECUSTA is led by two dedicated professionals. 

Sr. Mekdelawit Worku serves as the NCEP Coordinator, Focal Person, and Trainer. A nurse with a BSc in Nursing, a BA in Economics, and an MPH in Health Service Management, she also holds the NCLEX-RN credential from the Illinois Board of Nursing. Sr. Mekdelawit coordinates and monitors program implementation, facilitates collaboration with partner clinical training hospitals, and supports clinical attachment and bedside mentorship so that theory is closely integrated with clinical practice. As a trainer, she builds the nurses’ clinical knowledge, practical skills, critical thinking, and professional confidence through interactive teaching, case-based learning, and Problem-Based Learning (PBL).

Working alongside her is Dr. Bruk Kifle, the program’s Clinical Coordinator and Session Facilitator. Dr. Bruk oversees the overall clinical attachment of participants, facilitates classroom sessions and academic coordination, links lectures with hands-on clinical experience, and tracks each participant’s progress across the core competencies set out in the national framework.

Through its role in NCEP, ECUSTA contributes to national health workforce development and serves as a center of excellence working toward standardized competency, patient safety, and high-quality care nationwide. To learn more about the program, visit the NCEP page on the ECUSTA website.