International Nurses Day is observed on May 12 to acknowledge the importance of nurses in healthcare systems. The theme for 2022 is “Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Invest in Nursing and Respect Rights to Secure Global Health.”
On this occasion, Ms. Rehana Elahi, Director for Nursing at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centers (SKMCH&RC) said, “The vision for the future of nursing in general, and at a tertiary care cancer centre such as SKMCH&RC in particular, demands a highly knowledgeable and specialised nursing work force presence round the clock. To meet this demand, SKMCH&RC invests in education and training of nurses. We offer a number of formal nursing education programmes including specialised diploma programmes in Oncology, Critical Care and Preoperative Nursing, and a bachelor’s degree in Oncology Nursing.”
In a message for the public, Dr. Muhammed Aasim Yusuf, the Chief Medical Officer of SKMCH&RC, appreciated the role of nurses and encouraged young people to consider nursing as a profession. He said, “Our nurses have played an integral role in ensuring continuity of quality cancer care while maintaining dignity of patients. There is a general shortage of nurses in our country and as the Shaukat Khanum Healthcare System looks to expand its services, there is an increasing demand of nurses trained in oncology. I hope that increasing numbers of young women and men in our country will step forward and join the nursing profession.”
Dr Faisal Sultan, the Chief Executive Officer of SKMCH&RC said, “Nurses play a vital role in improving quality of health care systems. They raise the standards of care at the point of service delivery and bring compassionate care to patients.” He went on to say, “In Pakistan, improvement in salaries of nurses and in their standard of living is a positive trend. We should invest in continuing nursing education programmes and take steps to promote their health and wellbeing. It is heartening to see a consensus amongst government, private and not-for-profit sectors on the important role of training and recognition of nurses in providing quality healthcare.”
Acknowledging the role of nurses during the coronavirus pandemic, Dr Faisal said that not only in Pakistan but also around the world, nurses played an exceptional role and displayed great courage and unyielding commitment towards their profession during these unprecedented times. At Shaukat Khanum Hospitals in Lahore and Peshawar, we recognise the important role of nursing in helping us achieve international accreditation such as the Joint Commission International. He concluded, “We need the support of our nursing colleagues in improving and maintaining high standards in health service delivery.”
