Return to Lesotho
Nursing graduate returns home to fill leadership role in Maluti Hospital School of Nursing
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She was born in Lesotho to evangelist parents, the third of five girls. While a student at the Maluti Hospital School of Nursing, she became a Seventh-day Adventist. Upon finishing her training in general nursing and midwifery, she joined the operating room staff at Maluti. "I feel honored to talk about Maluti Hospital School of Nursing," says Amelia Ranotsi, PhD, RN, MSN, "because I love this institution very much and I believe it is a shining light to people around, pointing them to Christ." Maluti Hospital, a 160-bed facility located in Mapoteng, a village nestled in the foothills of the Maluti Mountains, opened in 1951 and quickly established a reputation of excellence in surgery, eye care, and for its School of Nursing. Situated in Lesotho, an enclave of South Africa about the size of the state of Maryland with a population of about 2.1 million, Maluti Hospital serves more than 70,000 people in the western part of the Berea district, as well as a small portion of the Leribe district. In addition, a number of health centers and clinics outside the health-service area reach an even larger population. At nearly a mile above sea level, the region experiences cold winters, often with subfreezing temperatures, frost, and occasional snow. Summers are hot, with low humidity and frequent thundershowers. "The population is scattered in small villages among the hills," Dr. Ranotsi describes. "For many families, the main source of income is from serving as migrant laborers." She adds, "In most families, at least one male member works in the mines of South Africa." Soon after finishing her training at Maluti School of Nursing, Dr. Ranotsi was already looking for ways to take the next step in her training. While working in the operating room at Maluti, she attended school in South Africa to specialize in her area. Completing her course, she was promoted to operating room supervisor, and served in that capacity for several years. "While I worked in the operating room, I enrolled with a well-known distance- learning university in South Africa called UNISA," she relates. "I completed a basic degree majoring in nursing education and community health nursing sciences." However, Dr. Ranotsi was far from finishing her education. "In 1990, I received admission to Loma Linda to pursue a master's of health science degree, majoring in adult and aging client nursing," she explains. "I completed this course in February, 1992, and came back to work at Maluti Hospital School of Nursing as a nurse educator." Upon her return, she was also asked to take on the duties of principal nurse educator for the school. At Loma Linda, she notes, this interest in mission work intensified. |
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| Maluti Hospital, a 160-bed facility, was established in 1951. It quickly became known in the region as a leader particularly in the areas of surgery and eye care, as well as for its School of Nursing. The hospital's health-service area encompasses a population of about 70,000 people. In the photo above, Dr. Ranotsi stands at the entrance. | ||
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| Dr. Ranotsi (left) and seven of her nursing students gather in front of the Maluti Hospital sign and logo. She began as a student at the school, going on to earn her MSN degree from Loma Linda and her PhD degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. | ||
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| Amelia Ranotsi, PhD, RN, MSN, discusses the new curriculum with one of her nursing faculty members in front of the girls' dormitory at Maluti. |
"I already had an interest in mission work before I went to Loma Linda," she remembers, "because I had worked with very dedicated missionaries from America, South Africa, and other areas while here at Maluti."
At Loma Linda, she notes, this interest in mission work intensified.
"The loving and highly knowledgeable faculty members who taught me, and the loving church members around Loma Linda," she reflects, "made me realize that I needed to pass that knowledge and loving care to my own people at Maluti School of Nursing."
In 1994, she returned to the United States once again, this time to work on a PhD degree in nursing at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
"While I was in Maryland, I became interested in the concept of problem-based, community-based learning," she says. "I studied it at length and it became the topic of my doctoral research."
In December of 1997, upon completion of her doctoral studies, she once again returned to Maluti to serve as principal nurse educator. She immediately set about putting her new knowledge and skills to work in helping other nurse educators catch the vision of problem-based, community-based learning.
"When I came back to Maluti," she conveys, "I organized workshops through a Kellogg Foundation-sponsored project."
Maluti Hospital supported her efforts as coordinator of the project. Nurse educators from around the country attended the workshops and much interest in this style of teaching and learning was generated.
"At Maluti, we have implemented this method of instruction on a small scale," she maintains. "If we receive funding, we hope to conduct research to determine whether this method of instruction is making a difference with our students."
Dr. Ranotsi has also taken on leadership roles within the area's professional nursing community. Not only was she elected to membership on the Lesotho Nursing Council and Professional Conduct Committee, she was asked to chair both organizations. "This is the first time these posts are occupied by a nurse in Lesotho," Dr. Ranotsi attests. "I have been involved in setting standards and guidelines for the nursing profession in Lesotho, as well as developing rules and regulations for professional conduct."
Currently Dr. Ranotsi is "developing a tool to test the fit between the developed standards and the nursing environment in Lesotho. I find these activities interesting and stimulating," she confides. "What I miss, though, is the ability to go to the library and do research, knowing I would find current literature on the areas of interest--like I used to do at Loma Linda."
She notes, however, that the new computer donated by the Loma Linda University School of Nursing to Maluti greatly helps to facilitate her work.
While Dr. Ranotsi enjoys her research and conducting workshops, she does not lose sight of her real motivation for serving at Maluti.
"I like my work at Maluti because I enjoy working with students," she grants. "Many of my students have told me that they feel free to talk to me and that I am their role model."
She feels it is especially important to be a spiritual role model for her students. Her spiritual awakening and renewal happened while she was a student at Maluti.
"I had been an Adventist Christian for several years but I really did not know God," she remembers. "When I became an Adventist, I was sincerely seeking for the truth--I heard about keeping the Sabbath, returning tithe, and being baptized by immersion, and I realized that I needed to follow the Lord."
She became a vegetarian and very active in witnessing, conducting branch Sabbath schools and other outreach activities all day on Saturdays. "It never dawned on me that I was trying to make myself righteous," she expresses. "The more I tried to be good, the more I realized my ugly nature and my powerlessness to deal with it--I felt a constant sense of guilt and low self-esteem."
The arrival of an ophthalmologist at Maluti proved to be a major blessing for Dr. Ranotsi and her spiritual growth.
"He started Sabbath afternoon classes where we went through the books of the Bible," she says. "The focus during these classes was the character of God.
"I learned not to struggle with my ugly nature myself but to give it to Jesus in prayer," she explains. "This new approach took time to develop in me. I do not claim to be perfect--I still have weaknesses of nature--but I have learned to take them to the Lord."
She concludes, "I try to introduce this concept in my association with my students, and I pray that God will help me to pass it on in the right manner."
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