Champion Nyoni

Champion Nyoni, PhD, MSocSc (Nursing), BScN (Hons), RN,  is a Sigma member, research grant recipient, and 2020 Emerging Nurse Researcher/Scholar Award recipient. He is currently a post-doctoral fellow and Senior Researcher at the School of Nursing of the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa. 

“I think it is essential that the science of nursing is elevated through scholarship and research, and such science is disseminated in environments that foster advancement, connectedness, and transferability. Sigma offers such a platform for nurses.”

As a researcher, Champion Nyoni’s interests have been aligned with development, implementation, and evaluation of quality, competency-based nursing and midwifery programs in low- and middle-income countries. He is often engaged in faculty capacity development on competency-based education, instructional design, and student performance assessment. He leads research in these fields and supervises several master and doctoral students on various parts of research programs.   

Soon after his induction into Tau Lambda at-Large Chapter in 2016, Dr. Nyoni was awarded the Sigma/Alpha Eta Research Grant. Due to increasing maternal and child death rates in Lesotho, work was underway to transform midwife education. However, Dr. Nyoni and his team observed challenges that threatened the sustainability of education innovations and resulted in curriculum drift. This research supported educators in implementing the curriculum nationally, creating a platform for improving educator competencies and curriculum quality. In his own words, Dr. Nyoni said, “This grant has been life changing, and the funding made a research study that seemed impossible possible. Thank for this opportunity; my life, my students, my institution, and my people will never see the world the same again.” 

Dr. Nyoni also utilizes Sigma’s events as a platform to advance nursing science. In 2020, he received a leadership education grant to present virtually at Sigma’s 31st International Nursing Research Congress. His presentation, Curriculum Innovation In Nursing: A Journey Less Traveled, highlighted the importance of a strong curriculum and the critical training nurses receive. By attending congress, Dr. Nyoni was able to connect with several nursing education scientists from around the global and exchange ideas. “The conference broadened my horizons on the nursing knowledge economy, and I am grateful and hope to attend the next conference.”

At congress, Dr. Nyoni was also recognized as a 2020 Emerging Nurse Researcher/Scholar Award Recipient during the opening plenary. When asked about what the recognition means to him, Dr. Nyoni said, “This award is revolutionary to my career and that of the fellow nurses I engage with every day. Being recognized for such work inspires me to continue working towards excellence in nursing scholarship and to set an example of inspiration among junior nurses in low resource settings on the impact and potential value of their work. Such a global accolade brings in opportunities to engage in and connect with other nurse scientists in the world towards nursing academic excellence.” 

The grants Dr. Nyoni received were made possible by donors to the Sigma Foundation for Nursing. Donate today to make more of these grants possible.