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A section of healthcare personnel attending the International Nurses Day programme in Dimapur look on during the event in Dimapur on Friday.[/caption]
Staff Reporter
Dimapur, May 12 (EMN): This year’s theme for International Nurses Day, ‘Nurses: A voice to lead, achieving the sustainable development goals’ has been chosen by international council of nurses with quite a simple purpose: demonstrate and celebrate achievements of nurses.
This was expounded by the nursing superintendent of District Hospital Dimapur (DHD) Hisule Keppen Khing, the theme speaker of a program marking International Nurse Day in Dimapur. The event was observed at the Medical Fellowship Hall of the hospital by the Trained Nurses’ Association of India, Dimapur unit, on Friday.
“You may not realise that what you do is helping to achieve the United Nations sustainable development goals and millions of nurses around the world are contributing to their success and making health care readily available for billions of people across the globe,” the superintendent said.
Drawing attention to this year’s theme, Khing said that health is a central place in Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). It ensures healthy lives and promotes wellbeing for all ages; nursing has a major role to play in relation to SDGm. The work of nurses has major impact on the delivery of the other SDG such as education and poverty, while their roles are critical in achieving global mandates such as universal health coverage and the SDG.
Nurses must break down walls between professions to create cost effective interventions to improve the lives of patients with complex health and social needs, Khing said.
Calling for support, she said that “the best way nurses can support the development of the profession is by creating a climate of co-operation, worthy and challenging workplaces with interdisciplinary and ethical thinking.”
Also, the speaker pointed out that nurses were responsible for education and regulation standards related to the profession; workforce planning, conducting and maintaining high quality research, design and development of models of care and developing multi-sector approach to the provision of care.
It is equally important that the voices of nurses are heard as part of a multidisciplinary team of health professionals, she said.
Another speaker, assistant medical superintendent of the hospital, Dr. Belho called nurses an important part of healthcare. Therefore need to be broad minded and kind, he said. He reminded the nurses that when sick people come to any health centre, they come with great hope and at the same time with ‘bundle of fear’.
To tend to them, he said, nurses are the first to receive the sick and give them hope and comfort. And if nurses can have kindness instilled in them, it will increase a person’s moral, Dr. Belho reminded.
The health official reminded the nurses that their job was very crucial as the reputation of a hospital depends on the management and care delivered by the nurses.
‘Our life is our choice and we have decided to become health providers and likewise unless you are self disciplined and committed, your achievement will be of no value’ insisted Dr. Belho. He called on the nurses to maintain dignity and be wise in using their authority.
On the occasion, a play based on the theme was performed by members of the School of Nursing, Singrijan, besides songs from the hospital’s School Of Nursing, DHD.
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Nurses from the Naga Hospital, under the Naga Hospital Authority of Kohima (NHAK) observed International Nurses Day with a programme at the NHAK in Kohima town.
Addressing the nurses as the chief guest, the managing director of NHAK Dr Neikhrielie Khimia-o said that the expectations of every patient coming to the hospital from the nurses are politeness, good manners and treatment in the same way they would treat their family members.
As a doctor, he said every doctor want their nurses to be punctual, truthful, and hard working, clean; they want them ‘well dressed, well behaved’ and above all, want them to be loving and caring for fellowmen. He acknowledged the efforts and sacrifices of the nurses and for making the hospital a referral centre of the entire state.
While urging the nurses to be a model nurse like ‘Florence Nightingale’ to poor patients coming to the hospital, he called upon them to work for the uplift of the hospital.
Highlighting the theme was the principal of the nurses’ school of NHAK, L Watimongla. She said the year’s theme was to spread awareness in the nursing profession about what the SDG are and why they matter. Likewise, it is to spread information about it among the local population, government and decision makers, of the contributions nurses make toward attaining SDGs.
Nurses, as the primary providers of healthcare to all communities in all settings, she said are key to the achievements of SDGs. She also said that nurses should care about SDGs because ‘it is the right thing to do, it is our health and that change is possible.’
While nurses have the responsibility to work towards the SDGs and especially the health related targets, Watimongla opined that government also have a reciprocal responsibility to provide the means that will enable the nurses to contribute usefully to the targets.
She maintained that government has responsibilities for both national and global policy initiatives whether in achieving and sustaining universal access to health care, recruiting, supporting and retaining the health care workforce or ensuring sustainable development and facilitating and coordinating partnership and collaboration with different sectors and organisations.
However, she pointed that the most important role that the government have is political leadership that recognises spending on health and not an economic drain.
‘We need a change in political mindsets’ asserted Watimongla and called upon the nurses to have a voice that can lead this change wherever they work and whatever their role might be. She also commented that ‘it is upto each and everyone to be a voice to lead others, our patients, our colleagues, our communities and our government to better health.’
Special numbers were presented by the first and second year students of School of Nursing (SON) NHAK.
Earlier the programme was chaired by Nursing Tutor SON, NHAK, Visasieü Guozi while Nursing Superintendent, NHAK, Nzhülie Semy lighted the lamp and vote of thanks proposed by President TANI, Local Branch, Kohima, Rita Angami.