Chawapiwa Ndlovu

My background is environmental health, but when I came to Ireland, I knew I wanted a change.

In Zimbabwe, I worked as a safety officer in the engineering sector. It can be challenging to set up strong safety systems there, as there are not as many resources and supports, but I did my very best with what we had.

In Ireland, I started working as a healthcare assistant. From the start, I knew I wanted to improve patient safety, so that patients would have better outcomes. So, I joined the decontamination unit in the endoscopy department and, from there, decided to apply for RCSI’s two-year MSc Quality and Safety in Healthcare Management course.

Back home, the health sector isn’t in the best state. Here, I saw an opportunity to work in the profession while making changes and improvements. Armed with my knowledge from the course, I connected with my hospital’s patient safety and innovation department and set about identifying how I could make an impact.

The course was two years, part-time and online. I got support and released from work when needed. We learned about clinical governance, healthcare quality improvements, quality frameworks, leadership and initiative-building and more. The course was really engaging, and I got to meet doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals, and to learn about their work and processes.

I was also involved in transitioning from paper to electronic system, persuading stakeholders and getting people on board.

Indeed, I wrote my thesis on transitioning from paper-based to digital systems, an improvement project that was successfully implemented within the decontamination unit of the endoscopy department.

I also had to implement and lead a project in my workplace. I received exceptional support from my supervisors and nursing managers, who connected me with the patient safety and innovation department. This opportunity provided me with extensive exposure to quality improvement and risk management within the hospital setting.

My plan is to become more involved in leading on patient safety in my hospital. It has been an eye-opener to see how it works here, and I’m grateful to RCSI for the doors this course has opened for me.