Nursing council expresses concern over nursing education

Registrar, Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, Alhaji Faruk Abubakar has said the council would frown at any effort by other professionals to distract its efforts in reforming nursing and midwifery education in the country.

The registrar spoke at the 2017 annual conference of Graduate Nurses Association of Nigeria, Oyo State Branch, with the theme, “Economic Recession and Health of the Nation”.

Alhaji Abubakar, speaking through Mr Abdulrahif Adeniyi stated that the reform was necessitated by the need for the development of the profession

According to him, “There is the need to have a sustainable reform for quality assurance in the nursing profession. It is a sure way for growth, efficiency, effectiveness, quality improvement and enhanced public image of the nurse and the nursing profession.”

He added that the council had been having a serious challenge with quackery and individuals establishing illegal school of nursing and midwifery.

The registrar who stated that the council was concerned about the existing situation in the profession, called members of the nursing profession to join it in its fight against indiscipline and unethical and unprofessional conducts with the nursing profession.

Alhaji Abubakar noting that all nurses must realise that it is no longer business as usual but that things have to change, declared, “let every nurse re-evaluate herself/himself and his/her attitude to her job and to their clients. Let us treat people as we ourselves would like to be treated.”

He, however, urged that nurses in Nigeria take the lead in this change by improving the quality of service delivery rendered to their clients.

Wife of Oyo State governor, Chief Florence Ajimobi, represented at the occasion by Oyo State Commissioner of Health, Dr Azeez Adeduntan, said the economic recession was not sparing the health sector, urging that people think out of the box for the way forward.

He reassured that Oyo State government in thinking out of the box to make sure it harness and improve the healthcare delivery system had launched a N500 billion endowment fund to rehabilitate its hospitals  and approved the state’s health insurance, among other things, to improve access to care despite the recession.

Dr Adeduntan, stating that nursing profession had been prioritise with the establishment of new schools for nursing education to improve quality of nursing care, expressed satisfaction at the nurses brainstorming on the way forward despite the recession.

At the occasion, many individuals including Dr Azeez Adeduntan, Dr Bola Ofi, and Alhaji Faruk Abubakar were presented award for their contribution to excellent nursing services.