Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
Baboki Kayawe
2 November 2009
Gaborone — Almost a month before the International Year of the Nurse, nursing professionals have been advised to focus on quality health service delivery.
Speaking at the 30th Anniversary of the University of Botswana (UB) School of Nursing, former Health Minister and dean, Professor Sheila Tlou urged nursing students and staff to pursue excellence in the profession through engaging in quality education and practice.
Prof Tlou cautioned those who have doubts about their career choice to work hard and find a niche to fill, as the profession is highly marketable.
"This is a highly marketable profession. Many of its graduates are deployed in various fields in the country besides nursing," she said.
Tlou told them that whatever field they decide to take after school, they should continue to make immense contributions to the profession. She testified that she never wanted to do anything to do with health, but today she is proud to be a nurse and will forever be.
"I am a politician, but I still identify myself as a nurse," she said.
A pioneering alumnus of the school, Sarah Rathedi implored students to equip themselves for the profession through taking classes in other disciplines like politics and languages. She said there is need to have background knowledge in a number of fields as nurses serve people from all walks of life.
"I was taught that liberal education is necessary for one to be a nurse in the modern world," the Institute of Health Sciences (IHS) principal in Serowe said.
Moreover, she emphasised the importance of belonging to the profession and contributing to its development. Rathedi called upon nurses to belong to bodies that strive for excellence in the nursing profession such as the Nurses Association of Botswana (NAB) and others abroad.
"We have to continue in pursuit of excellence in nursing and the visionary leadership we have had in the profession for the last 30 years," she said.
Professor Serara Selelo-Mogwe, who has contributed immensely to the development of the School of Nursing and nursing in the country, was honoured at the event. Also recognised by the institution were Americans Dr Gloria Smith (in absentia) and Dr Harriet Karuhije.
Next year - 2010 - is the centennial year of the death of the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale (1820-1910). This historic milestone is planned as a sustained public awareness initiative to actively involve the world's nurses in a celebration of commitment to bring health to their communities, locally and worldwide.
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