(44 upgrade skills in Peri-Operative and Critical Care Nursing) 20/04/09

THE School of Peri-Operative and Critical Care Nursing (PON/CCN) at Korle-Bu has held its third graduation ceremony with a call on the graduates to strive to change the negative perception about health workers, especially nurses.
This, according to the Deputy Director of Human Resource for Health Development (HRHD) of the Ministry of Health (MOH), Dr Kwesi Asabir, could only be achieved, if the graduates worked diligently and humanely as professional nurses.
Forty four nurses graduated, with 21 of them acquiring diploma in Peri-Operative Nursing (PON), while 23 acquired diploma in Critical Care Nursing (CCN).
Dr Kwesi Asabir advised the graduates to use the knowledge acquired to contribute their quota to the development of the nursing profession and the country.
He said the ministry believed quality training of health professionals could only be achieved through the provision of excellent practical training schemes in the form of clinical work, demonstrations and field attractions.
He announced that the ministry had made arrangements to procure more physical anatomical models for nursing schools and utility vehicles to enhance practical teaching and learning.
Dr Asabir said the vibrant post-basic programme being organised by the Peri-Operative and Critical Care Training School was an indication of the ministry’s commitment to speciality nursing and healthcare delivery, even with limited resources.
That commitment, according to him, was borne out of the need to confront persistent and new health challenges that had the potential to derail the nation’s progress towards the goal of wealth creation.
He said the MOH had observed that the school had made significant contributions to speciality nursing and human resource challenges in the health sector.
“The school has also started fulfilling its mandate of improving access to specialist services outside the teaching hospitals and urban areas,” he added.
Dr Asabir congratulated the graduates and expressed the hope that they would put what they had learnt into good practice.
Mrs Cecilia Kalitse from the Nurses and Midwives Council (NMC), who represented the Registrar of the NMC, Mrs Veronica Darko, urged the graduates to serve their clients to the best of their abilities to enhance the image of the profession.
She said most accident victims died out of poor handling, and therefore, called on all nurses to help in the national crusade of teaching the public the right ways of handling such victims to save lives.
She advised nurses to handle clients and patients in their care with great care, and also act professionally.
The school prefect, Mr Joel Kpodo, on behalf of his colleagues, expressed disappointment at the manner in which stakeholders in the health sector treated nurses who had acquired additional skills in peri-operative and critical nursing.
He appealed to the various stakeholders to value the PON/CCN programme not just as an “added knowledge”, but also as a programme which offered the registered general nurses an opportunity to upgrade their professional qualifications to attain promotion to the next available rank.
Mr Kpodo appealed to the government to help equip the institution with modern technologies, learning and training materials and other equipment for quality training.
He also called on the school authorities to introduce distance learning programmes to help more nurses access training and skills in PON/CCN.
Mr Kpodo entreated his colleagues to continue to upgrade themselves and give advanced quality health care to their clients and patients.
Ms Belinda Anukpui and Ms Rejoice Gbologah emerged the best students among the graduates. Seven graduates were also awarded for their dedication and hard work over the years in the school.
They included Mr Joel Kpodo, Ms Belinda Anukpui, Ms Judith Arko, Ms Joyce Odum, Ms Lucy Ofosu-Appiah, Ms Marian Ofori Atta and Ms Salamatu Yusif.