ASABA/Nigeria: Nurses have been called upon to always cash in on any available opportunity to upgrade their skills.
The Delta State Commissioner for Health Dr. Nicholas Azinge gave the advice in Asaba during the opening ceremony of the Zonal Workshop on the Implementation of the Revised General Nursing, Midwifery and Post Basic Nursing Curricula organized by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria in collaboration with the Delta State Ministry of Health.
Dr Azinge stated that such upgrade would make Nurses meet up with the current trends both nationally and internationally, saying they play a vital role in the health care delivery system in any society.
The Commissioner who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr Minnie Oseji commended the Council for taking the bold step to revise all the curricula for nursing and midwifery education in line with global best practice.
Dr Azinge said that Delta State was taking the lead in achieving universal health coverage through its contributory health insurance scheme established to promote health for all Deltans.
He explained that to achieve this, conscious efforts must be made to improve the interpersonal communication between health workers and patients as well as fashion out strategies to reduce waiting time in health institution which according to him required major inputs from the nursing profession.
The Health Commissioner said that the workshop which had as its theme ‘Strengthening Nursing and Midwifery Education for Quality Health Care’ was timely, occasioned by the current ravaging threat of emerging and dreaded diseases such as Ebola, Lassa fever and now Monkey Pox, stating that highly trained nurses would no doubt help improve our health care delivery system.
In her welcome address, the Director of Nursing Services in Ministry, Mrs. Veronica Osaneku said that the curriculum of the Council ensured that Nurses and Midwifes were adequately trained to provide health care to people.
She stated that to meet up with the local and global trends in health care delivery, effective and efficient implementation of these curricula must be carried out.
She added that the workshop came at a time when the Council was planning to commence the National Diploma/Higher National Diploma programme in Nigeria for academic recognition of the Nursing and Midwifery Certificates, which she said justified hence the revision of the curriculum to meet up with the stipulated standards by relevant regulatory bodies.
In his address, the Secretary General/Registrar, Nurses and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Alhaji Faruk Abubakar represented by Mrs. Margaret Eze, Head of Education Unit, Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria revealed that to maintain standards, the Council carryout review of the curricula every five years to ensure that all current issues are carefully incorporated into the curricular.
He appealed to the Lecturers, Nursing and Midwifery Educators to be diligent and committed in the implementation of the revised curriculum, urging them to discharge their teaching duties with high sense of responsibility and integrity in order to produce well equipped graduates with the right knowledge and skills to render quality and effective nursing.
In her Keynote address Prof (Mrs.) G. Robison-Bassey, Senior Lecturer, Department of Nursing Sciences, University of Port-Harcourt said that due to the present technological advancement, patients were now aware of their health status and rights compared to the past and hence the need for nurses and midwives to upgrade themselves with relevant professional skills in order not to be ridiculed by their clients and also to enable them meet up with the changing times.
Participants were drawn from the six states that make up the south-south zone and each state was represented by the educators from their various schools of Nursing and Midwifery.
