India, we need Nurses to cater to large number of masses
Nurses are the brain and heart of healthcare, said civil surgeon Rajendra Shinge on the occasion of International Nurses Day. Twenty nurses were felicitated on the occasion.
Around 100 students from the Nurses Training College of the Civil Hospital, staff members and others attended the programme organized for them. The celebrations for the occasion began from May 7. Various activities such as musical chairs, rangoli competition and debates were organized for the nurses.
Prizes were distributed to the winners on Monday and the nurses were addressed by resident medical officer (RMO) G M Hole and the civil surgeon.
“Nurses have to be present where doctors are not. Nurses and doctors go hand-in-hand where health care is concerned. Nurses serve society under adverse circumstances,” said Shinge, explaining the theme of this year’s celebration, ‘Nurses: a force for change – a vital source for health.’
Hole elaborated on the theme and said nurses have to adapt to changing times.
Student nurses had also performed a dance during the celebration.
The principal of the college, Meena Pathare, said that in the present complex environment, nurses have to adapt to change. “Comprehensive nursing care is needed. You have to use information technology and act as an advisor,” she said.
The student nurses have been participating in the programmes in the run up to the occasion from May 7, while not missing their duties and lectures.
“This is not just a college, it is a training centre and the student nurses have to also attend to their ward duties,” said senior advisor of the Students’ Association, Shama Maulikar.
The Red Cross Society, Nashik, also observed this day with the nursing students from MVP Nursing College, Rajebahadur Nursing College and all the nurses of the Red Cross. Major (Retd) P M Bhagat, honorary secretary, Indian Red Cross, Nashik Branch, said, “If the doctor is considered God, then the nurses are angels. A doctor examines a patient, prescribes treatment in the hospital, but the nurse is that health professional who looks after him 24 hours a day until the patient is completely cured and discharged from the hospital.”
He also inspired the nursing students to join the Army Nursing Corps.
“Nurses provide tireless, dedicated and affectionate service to patients, rendering an excellent support system in health care,” said Dr Pratibha Aundhkar, while explaining the importance of the theme of the day for 2014. “Nurses are the soul of healthcare and hence should be remembered all days of the year,” she said.
Mohini Mirikar, senior nurse of the Red Cross, Nashik, said that as the largest healthcare workforce in the world, nurses are often the only ones accessible to people in their lifetime. “So nurses are particularly well placed and often the most innovative in reaching undeserved and disadvantaged population.”
