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Excellence in care celebrated this International Nurses’ Day

Netcare salutes nurses and the ever-evolving science of nursing care

Thursday, May 11 2017

Nursing is a profession like no other. From nursing students learning the basics of clinical nursing care to those nurses pursuing highly specialised fields of healthcare, this is a vocation that requires dedication, resilience, acute attention to detail, and a life-long passion for learning.

Pic: Director of nursing and nursing education at Netcare, Shannon Nell, thanked nurses ahead of International Nurses Day which is celebrated on Friday 12 Mayfor their dedication to providing care and making a difference in people’s lives.

“This International Nurses’ Day, 12 May 2017, Netcare salutes the women and men who wear their uniforms with pride, as well as the students who aspire to take up this influential role in future,” says Shannon Nell, director of nursing and nursing education at Netcare.   

“Nurses fulfil a vital role in society, which extends beyond their working hours in a healthcare facility. When we see a nurse’s uniform, it speaks of knowledge in the service of care and a professional efficiency that is reassuring in times of illness or crisis.

“All of our nurses, from the highly experienced and specialised to those who are just starting out in the profession, have one distinction in common: each chose to apply their minds and their lives to the pursuit of excellence in caring for others,” she adds.

“Through studying and working in this demanding area of healthcare service delivery, these exceptional individuals know that ‘care’ is as much a science as it is an art. To all Netcare nurses, thank you all for the contribution you make each day for your patients, your respective teams, and for upholding Netcare’s unique approach to care.”

Sister Metse Maphula, who is studying towards a post-basic qualification in critical care at Netcare Education’s Gauteng South West campus in Auckland Park, Johannesburg, says that the knowledge and skills she and her classmates are attaining are equipping them to make a positive difference not only in the course of their official duties, but also at community level.

“Every day you get to help someone and make a positive difference in that person’s life. We can offer a lot of help to people in our community, our family members and, of course, our patients. This is what motivates us to persevere and love what we do each day. There are challenges that come with nursing, but we are able to face these because we are a team.”

Bridging course student, Kavitha Naidoo, who celebrates her birthday on International Nurses’ Day, says that she has found her practical work at Netcare Rehabilitation Hospital extremely rewarding, particularly as it provides the opportunity to contribute towards patients’ recovery.

“I have seen patients come into the facility with injuries seriously affecting their mobility, who are able to walk out of the hospital unassisted when they leave. As a nurse, it is the greatest privilege to help patients reach a stage where they feel ‘I can do this again’, where they can get back into family life and return to work. Care extends beyond physical wellbeing, it also has psychosocial dimensions,” she says.

Nell notes that the theory and practice of nursing is constantly evolving, with new technologies and enhanced methods of care emerging all the time. “Choosing a career in nursing means embarking on a path of life-long learning. This is a challenging career, whether the individual decides to pursue a particular specialisation requiring additional years of study, or refining their skills through greater understanding of healthcare processes and people.

“We all have something new to learn each day. It is simply a question of recognising it and grabbing hold of the opportunities as they present themselves,” she observes.

“Nursing is not practiced in isolation; it involves a high degree of co-operation with other team members and doctors, as well as the ability to make informed critical decisions and meaningfully engage with patients and their families, often under stressful circumstances. This requires a delicate balance between professional distance and empathy, adherence to established protocols and intuition, and above all human understanding informed by medical facts. This wisdom cannot be achieved overnight – and if it could be, it would not be as highly valued as it rightly is,” Nell adds.

“My message to nurses this International Nurses Day is one of profound gratitude for the work they do in touching so many people’s lives, and encouragement for the years ahead in their profession. Thank you to each one of you for your hard work. Your professionalism, dedication, efficiency and commitment are incredibly appreciated.”

“The concept of care fundamentally involves looking after the wellbeing of others. At work and in their personal lives, nurses stand out as the people on whom the rest of society relies in their time of greatest need. To all our nurses, on behalf of Netcare, thank you for the professionalism and compassion you demonstrate in delivering the best possible care to our patients each day,” she concluded.


Ends

Issued by:           Martina Nicholson Associates (MNA) on behalf of Netcare and Netcare Education
Contact :               Martina Nicholson, Graeme Swinney, Meggan Saville or Pieter Rossouw
Telephone:        (011) 469 3016
Email:                   [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected]