More nurses are expected to join the country’s health sector that is currently bogged down by a shortage of medical personnel.

Students of nursing schools countrywide yesterday began their final examinations leading to the award of Advanced Diploma in Nursing and Midwifery.

A number of students at Rwamagana School of Nursing and Midwifery, who talked to The New Times before sitting for the examinations, said they were excited to have reached the final stage of the course.

A 23 year old midwifery student at the institution, Jeannette Niyigena, said the school had prepared them well for the examinations.

 "This school seems like a shortcut to succeed as a midwife or nurse...we are sitting our examinations and are confident of excelling,” she said.

Epiphanie Mukabaranga, the school’s director, noted that success of the nursing students was not something new to them.

She argued that the examination was a cumulative test on what nursing students at the institution had learnt over the years.

 "I am always impressed by the success of our students. The bottom line however, is good training and the high level of discipline we maintain. The two, coupled with a well equipped library, makes our students pass examinations,” she said.

"For the last several years, we have been in the 90 percent range (in terms of pass rate),” said Mukabaranga.

"We were slightly higher than that in 2010,” she hastily added.

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