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12 May 2022 | Story Jóhann Thormählen | Photo Supplied
Kovsie Health nurses
The University of the Free State has nursing staff on the Bloemfontein, South and Qwaqwa campuses who serve staff and students daily.

Being able to care, love and help others. These are some of the reasons why nursing staff from Kovsie Health at the University of the Free State (UFS) enjoy and get fulfilment from their profession.

They believe in making a difference and live it out daily while at work on campuses of the UFS.

Like many in their field, they overcome challenges to assist others and that is why Kovsie Health also celebrates International Nurses Day today.

International Nurses Day is celebrated on 12 May to honour nurses around the world for the work they do. It is celebrated on the day Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, was born.

According to Sister Riana Johnson, Deputy Director: Health and Wellness Centre at the UFS, it is important to celebrate the day as it honours nurses, who often work under challenging circumstances.

Nurses from Kovsie Health serve students and personnel on the UFS Bloemfontein, South and Qwaqwa campuses.
Johnson says her love for people made her chose nursing as a job. “It is a profession where I can live that out by caring and helping others.”

Sister Florence Maleho, who works on the South Campus, agrees: “It is all about giving your best, forgetting about yourself and being there for others.”

According to Sister Corné Vorster her work is challenging on a cognitive level and fulfilling.

“It is a very stimulating and in the same sense you work multidisciplinary with many other disciplines in the medical field.”

Sister Sarien de Necker says helping students in need and seeing their grateful response makes it more than worthwhile. 

“It is about really making a difference,” she says. 

Qwaqwa Campus Nursing staffQwaqwa Campus Nursing staffQwaqwa Campus Nursing staff

Qwaqwa Campus Nursing staff
Qwaqwa Campus nursing staff. (Photo: Supplied)

News Archive

#Women'sMonth: PSP provides scholarly support system for Prof Wilson-Strydom
2017-08-17

Description: Merridy Wilson-Strydom Tags: National Research Foundation, Prof Merridy Wilson-Strydom, Centre for Research on Higher Education and Development, Prestige Scholars Programme, writing retreats, higher education literature 

Prof Merridy Wilson-Strydom loves asking questions and
therefore has a strong focus on research.
She also enjoys supervising PhD students.
Photo: Sonia Small


Publishing her first book and receiving a rating from the National Research Foundation (NRF) are career highlights for Prof Merridy Wilson-Strydom. As an emerging scholar, the Prestige Scholars Programme (PSP) of the University of the Free State (UFS) played an important role in reaching these goals. 

According to the Associate Professor in the Centre for Research on Higher Education and Development, the PSP provided an important scholarly support system, both through the coordinators and the other researchers who are part of the programme.

Writing retreats made book possible
“I found the support and advice provided during the process of applying for funding and rating really helpful,” she says about receiving a NRF C2 rating, based on her work over the past eight years.
She compliments the PSP writing retreats, which “provided a wonderful space for writing and it was during the writing retreats that I did a lot of the writing for my book that was published by Routledge in 2015.” Her book, University Access and Success: Capabilities, Diversity and Social Justice, moving back into academia from institutional research, working closely with undergraduate students as research participants, and postgraduate supervision, are all highlights of her work.

Her book makes a valuable contribution to higher education literature related to access and transition to universities. But, contrary to the mainstream approaches to access which rely on school performance and admissions tests, she poses the issue of social justice at the centre of the analysis.

Student project produces E-book
Another project headed by her and funded by the NRF Thuthuka Programme, was a study to understand the lives of 40 undergraduate students (on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus) who attended township high schools. The study had a particular focus on identifying institutional practices that either enable or constrain students’ capabilities for success in undergraduate study.

One of the outputs was the writing of an E-book called In our own words: Perspectives on being a student. It was written by 30 undergraduate students and the purpose was to provide a platform for students to tell their own stories about life as a student. 

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