In the small town of Kpando Gadza in the Volta Region of Ghana, Ms. Lawrencia Aggrey-Bluwey was born to two Civil Servants; Dr. Francis Aggrey-Bluwey of blessed memory and Supt. Cecilia Aggrey-Bluwey.
She had a “fairly normal childhood” but discovered early in life that she was good at other intellectual activities such as spelling competitions, quizzes, debates, and delivering speeches.
It is, therefore, no wonder that she has climbed the academic ladder and at age 30, she is the youngest person pursuing Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Health Policy and Management at the University of Ghana Business School.
With quite remarkable experience as a health professional, Lawrencia is currently on the path of influencing health policy as she is focused on training up and coming healthcare professionals.
Speaking to The Spectator, she said “the only way to build a formidable health system is to fully equip the incoming generation of healthcare professionals with the necessary knowledge, skills and attitude to function effectively both within and outside the clinical setting.”
Education
Lawrencia obtained aggregate seven when she sat the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in second year at Asuofia D/A Junior High School, Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region.
With this excellent score, she proceeded to Archbishop Porter Girls’ Secondary School (APGSS) at Fijai near Takoradi in the Western Region, where she studied General Science.
Recalling her days at APGSS, she highlighted her active participation in a number of extracurricular activities with debating as her favourite.
As Chief Debater and Assistant School Prefect at the time, she led her school to win second place on the national stage at Ghana at 50 Interschools Debate.
Lawrencia was a member of Ghana’s delegation to the International Junior Science Olympiad in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2006 where the team won a Bronze Medal.
Nursing
After successfully passing the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), she gained admission to pursue a Bachelor of Science Degree (Bsc) in Nursing at the University of Ghana Nursing School.
The decision to pursue nursing, according to her, was driven by “the passion to help people in pain and the need to impact the lives of many who need help within the healthcare setting.”
After certification as a Registered General Nurse (RGN), she began her career as a Rotation Nurse at the Achimota Hospital in Accra. She served also at other facilities including the Police Hospital, C&J Medicare Hospital at Sakumono, and the Shai-Osudoku District Hospital at Dodowa, where she spent the greater part of her working years in Clinical Nursing practice.
With about eight years experience as a healthcare professional in the public and private health sectors, Lawrencia aims to “change the narrative of the nursing profession” in the country and to reassure the public that “there are still good nurses in Ghana who can be trusted for their services to God and nation.”
Academia
Lawrencia said she felt “a strong urge” to impact more lives other than being a clinical bedside nurse, hence the decision to upgrade herself academically.
“I have always wanted to help health workers acquire top notch clinical and administrative skills so that they could deliver excellent healthcare and eventually make Ghana’s health system a formidable one,” she noted.
For this reason, she took up and completed Postgraduate Diploma in Education at the University of Education, Winneba in 2015 and went ahead to acquire Master of Philosophy Degree (Mphil) in Health Services Management at the University of Ghana Business School in 2017.
This knowledge and her prior clinical experience, therefore, laid the foundation for her to well establish herself as a professional teacher and health services manageress.
Lawrencia began her tutoring journey at Wisconsin International University College at Haatso, Accra, where she handled Health Management courses at the School of Nursing and supervised both nursing and midwifery students.
She is currently an Assistant Lecturer at the University of Education, Winneba, where she teaches Health Administrators and Educators, and has additional skills in classroom and curriculum management, teaching, supervision, data collection and data analysis.
Interests
As an Academic and Researcher, she has interests in Health Policy (Conventional and Alternative Healthcare), Healthcare Governance, Nursing Advocacy, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Health Education.
She noted that the field of Conventional and Alternative Medicine was still at its infant stage hence the need for government and stakeholders to focus more attention on that sector.
“Health policy for both Conventional and Alternative Medicine is the discipline which sets the foundation for providing the best level of healthcare.
“It is the pillar which gives us the capacity to plan and make solid decisions which are of major importance in protecting the collective welfare of the entire population in our Health System,” she said.
The Lecturer further observed that there were “numerous inconsistencies especially with the implementation stages of our health policies,” in our part of the world hence her passion to “delve into the policy circles and make significant impact.”
Inspiration
Ms Lawrencia Aggrey Bluwey said her inspiration comes from seeing the people around her succeed as well as her quest for excellence in everything she does.
“I am very passionate about challenging the status quo as it has always been my aim to prove to the world that it is very possible to go beyond perceived societal barriers and make a difference in whatever you set to do,” she said.
In spite of the challenges of juggling professional and family roles, she says that it is “important for women to develop their intellectual and professional capacity in order to “improve the society in which we live.”
She insists that social barriers should not limit young girls from achieving their dreams, and that they should identify a mentor, be ready to learn, imbibe the word of God and have the determination to succeed in all endeavours.
By Ernest Nutsugah