The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) has inducted a total of 168 (One Hundred and Sixty Eight) new nurses of Abia State University to boost healthcare delivery in the Country.
Speaking at the induction ceremony which held at the University auditorium, the Vice-Chancellor and Chairman on the occasion, Distinguished Professor Onyemachi M. Ogbulu, stated that ABSU has continued to train and produce quality medical professionals, with the Nursing department of the Institution scoring 90% (Ninety percent) success in their last professional examinations released recently.
He urged the graduands to always strive to be good ambassadors of the University by abiding to the ethics of their profession, while commending the parents and their lecturers for ensuring the success of the graduands in their chosen career.
Prof Ogbulu
Also speaking, the Registrar/ Secretary, NMCN Alhaji Faruk Umar Abubakar, represented by Mrs. C. Chigbu a director in the Council, urged the graduating nurses to display humility and passion in their practice and make the well being of their patients their priority.
She emphasized that the Council will monitor their practise strictly to ensure they adhere to the ethics of the profession and congratulated them on their success.
Delivering a lecture on the theme: “Our Nurse, Our Future: Acknowledging the Vital Role of Nurses in Building a Strong and Sustainable Health Care System in Nigeria”, the guest speaker, Professor A. U. Chinweuba, stated that strong and sustainable health care system in Nigeria can only be built through a proper recognition of the important role of Nurses in the healthcare sector and improvement of their working conditions to reduce the ugly trend of brain drain in the profession.
In his remarks, the Dean Faculty of Health Sciences, Professor Candy Ahuama also speaking on behalf of the Provost, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Professor S. N. Onwere, congratulated the Department of Nursing for the harvest of such huge number of nurses and encouraged the graduands to continue to pursue higher education and attend continuing programme development of the profession.
Earlier in her welcome address, the Head of Department, Nursing Sciences, Dr Emeonye Odochi Peace, explained that Department of Nursing in Nigeria is unique as the students graduate with four (4) certificates within five years and students write different examinations outside the University main examination. She appreciated the Vice-Chancellor and management, Director of Nursing Abia State and others for their unflinching support to the department, praying for more collaboration with all stakeholders to further develop the nursing profession in the country.
The best graduating student, Miss Mercy Nwakanma Igbojionu in her valedictory speech, expressed gratitude to God for a successful academic journey while thanking her parents and lecturers for their training and guidance to achieve excellence in a very competitive academic enviroment like ABSU and in the nursing programme.
Mercy
In a vote of thanks, Mrs. S. U. Ogburuafor of the Nursing Science Department, commended the graduands for their achievement and encouraged them to always be the light, strive and shine for greater achievement while appreciating the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Onyemachi M. Ogbulu and Management for their support to the department.
High point of the induction ceremony was the administration of Induction oath on the new Nurses and presentation of awards and prizes to the best graduating student and other deserving individuals.
All principal officers were present at the event.
