Sixty–seven young nurses and midwives across the country are attending a virtual workshop that aims to empower the next generation of the profession in career development and health care delivery.
The 10-day event dubbed “The Nightingale Challenge and Workshop” which ends on May 21 is part of “Nursing Now”, a three-year global campaign that seeks to improve the status and profile of nursing and midwifery.
Inspired by the critical role they play in health promotion, disease prevention and treatment, the campaign ends this year, to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing.
The workshop organised by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), was launched online on May 12, in alliance with the University of Ghana Medical Centre, Mental Health Authority, Ghana Health Service, Ghana College of Nurses and Midwifery and other health and related institutions.
Topics to be discussed at the workshop include leadership (Next Generations), implementation research, social media ethics and repositioning clinical nursing and midwifery among others.
Speaking at the launch, the Registrar of NMC, Mr Felix Nyante said that the challenge was launched globally in June 2019 to celebrate 2020 as the Year at the Nurse and the Midwife.
Every health employer across the world, he said, was required to provide leadership and development training for some of their young nurses and midwives this year.
“By accepting the Nightingale Challenge, we are demonstrating our commitment to investing and championing nursing and midwifery at a time when the world is grappling with the coronavirus pandemic and how to control it”, he said.
For her part, the Chairman of the 14-member the governing board of the NMC, Reverend Veronica Mina Darko said this launch and workshop were slated for March 24 but postponed and shifted online due to the COVlD-19 Global Pandemic
She said the challenge was in line with the council’s vision to ensure the availability of trained nursing and midwifery professionals who would deliver competent and efficient professional services.
Leadership, she noted was now widely recognised as part of an overall effective nursing and midwifery practice and expressed concerned about the future of the profession because many young ones were not interested in leadership positions.
“The success of our profession hinges on our ability to recruit, develop and mentor our future leaders. Ensuring the competencies, skills, and success of our next generation of leaders requires planning and action.
“All of us as nursing leaders need to groom our replacements so they can team up, adapt, prosper and, critically think about their actions,” she noted.
BY TIMES REPORTER
