Professor Ntombifikile Mtshali Honoured As ScholarGPS 2024 Top Scholar For Groundbreaking Nurse Education Research

Mtshali ranks among the top 0.5% of scholars globally in the field of nurse education.

ScholarGPS, a globally recognised academic analytics platform, celebrates top-performing scholars for their exceptional contributions across disciplines.

Mtshali received recognition in two distinguished categories:

• Top Scholar – Lifetime: Ranked #137 globally in Nurse Education
• Top Scholar – Past Five Years: Ranked #22 globally in Nurse Education

With more than 90 peer-reviewed journal articles, including 76 published in DHET-accredited journals, 15 book chapters, and contributions to 11 World Health Organisation (WHO) reports, Mtshali’s scholarly work continues to shape global health policy.

Several of her co-authored articles have been cited in WHO’s State of the World’s Nursing Reports (2020 and 2025) and the Nursing and Midwifery Workforce in the Africa Region 2022 report.

She has successfully supervised 21 PhD and 34 master’s students across the African continent and served in influential leadership roles, including:

• Dean of Teaching and Learning, College of Health Sciences, UKZN
• Head of the Nursing Department, UKZN
• Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Midwifery at UKZN
• South Africa Country Manager for the Nursing Education Partnership Initiative (NEPI) under ICAP at Columbia University

In addition, Mtshali has led and provided technical support to WHO regional task teams in countries such as the DRC, Lesotho, Namibia, Rwanda, and Tanzania, and served as a visiting professor to develop nurse educator capacity and competency-based training programmes.

She is a member and fellow of several professional organisations, including the Honour Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International, the Academy of Nursing in South Africa, and the African Forum for Research and Education in Health (AFREhealth).