In Ghana, She’s the King of Nurses

To her friends and colleagues, she’s Dr. Muriel Kranabetter, associate professor, UBC Okanagan School of Nursing. But to those in the remote mud-hut village of Chanshegu and environs in Ghana, she’s Malgu Naa – King of Peace and Unity – and village elder. The rare honorific was bestowed on Kranabetter in a multi-day ceremony in appreciation and recognition of her work and that of the teams of fourth-year UBC students who have travelled to Ghana for annual six-week clinical practicums since 2009. The teams teach maternal and infant health, administer immunizations, teach and deliver nursing care and more recently are helping raise funds for the latest project, the final construction and fitting out of a desperately needed village nursing clinic.