Stephana Sefa Boateng compares nursing standards in Ghana, US, and UK

Health practitioner Stephana Sefa Boateng has compared nursing practices across Ghana, the United Kingdom, and the United States, highlighting key differences in professional responsibilities, practical skills, and training standards. 

According to her, while the theoretical knowledge acquired in nursing school is largely similar across all three countries, significant differences emerge in the legal frameworks governing the profession and how healthcare is practiced on the ground. 

She explained that certain clinical procedures permitted for nurses in one jurisdiction may fall outside their scope of practice in another. 

Stephana described nursing in the United States as a field that grants practitioners considerable autonomy, requiring them to be highly knowledgeable, technically skilled, and capable of making critical decisions. In contrast, she noted that the British system operates differently, with certain specialized procedures often delegated to designated hospital support staff. 

Using the example of inserting a needle into a patient’s vein, she explained that while nurses in some British hospitals can call upon specialized staff to handle the procedure, Ghanaian nurses must acquire and master the practical skill themselves—especially when working in rural communities with limited access to specialized healthcare professionals. 

Based on practical competence and hands-on capability, she ranked American nurses first, followed by adaptable and highly skilled Ghanaian nurses, with British nurses placing third. She clarified, however, that her assessment reflected her perspective on clinical agility rather than an indictment of the overall quality of every individual nurse in those nations. 

Turning her focus to domestic standards, Stephana raised concerns regarding nursing education in Ghana, arguing that the country must place greater emphasis on cultivating critical thinkers and highly competent practitioners rather than focusing predominantly on basic ward duties. 

She suggested that the growing commercial demand for affordable healthcare labor may contribute to the training of practitioners who lack advanced clinical skills. 

She stressed that modern nurses should be fully equipped to perform procedures within their scope of practice, interpret electrocardiograms (ECGs), and respond effectively to critically ill patients. 

Stephana concluded by calling for sweeping improvements in nursing education and continuous professional development, emphasizing that healthcare workers must be adequately prepared to meet the rigorous demands of modern clinical practice.