BY MAVIS N PODOKOLO
UP to 127 young men and women joined the nursing service yesterday in a ceremony held to confer their status as “registered nurses”.
This new lot are expected to further boost the country’s human resource capacity in the health sector.
They received their nurse registration confirmation yesterday at the Holy Cross Cathedral, Honiara.
Speaking on the occasion, National Head of Nursing Council Solomon Islands and guest speaker Michael Larui encourages the newly registered nurses to work with their full scoop of practise to meet the needs of the health system.
Larui said nurses have been key part of the leadership during the current public health crisis
“While I acknowledge the work of colleague nurses, I wish to challenge us to ensuring that all patients receives patient –centred and high-quality care,” Larui said.
“Nurses are central to the design of health systems that focus on public health, prevention and primary care,” he added.
Larui told the nurses that their voice has the community’s trust, therefore nurses must get and pass right information to the public and not to entertain misinformation and disinformation in relation to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
“This voice is needed now more than ever. During public health emergencies and disasters, vulnerable populations are at a risk of poor to severe illness.
“As nurses, we must strengthen the support to following up on the disabled communities and increase the country’s contraceptive prevalence rate by improving family planning and child health services,” he said.
Larui also encouraged nurses to ready to be deployed to rural health centres.
“Absenteeism and lateness to work, conflict of interest and insubordination must not be the norm instead; nurses must be professionally competent in their practice and conduct.
“The profession needs you to contribute nursing meaningfully to the overall health service delivery,” he said.
