graduation ceremony of the Mmabatho College of Nursing
18 May 2007
Programme Director
The Principal of Excelsius College of Nursing
The College Council
The Lecturers
The SRC President
Academics from other institutions of learning present here today
Our diplomats� graduates
Officials from the North West Department of Health
Parents of our learners
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Our vision of realising optimum health for all individuals and communities
of our province is slowly and surely gaining momentum. It may seem unreal or
impossible to some "doubting thomases" but if you are part of a South Africa
that is alive with possibilities and sees the possibilities, you will agree
that indeed the burning desire to capacitate our healthcare system is being
realised. Today's event bears testimony to this viewpoint because as part of
addressing health professional shortages we undertook to empower you, to
educate you and to equip you with the necessary skills that are desperately
needed by the health care sector all over the world.
We officially welcome you the students of Mmabatho Nursing College into the
main stream healthcare sector. Your graduation here today qualifies you to this
honour and indeed you are honoured for your achievement. I want to congratulate
you on your individual accomplishments, but I also want to congratulate you for
the part you have played in a huge milestone for the college.
It is public knowledge that even here in our province we run short of health
professionals. Adding to this problem has been the fact that most of our
graduates desert us for greener pastures else where to the so called developed
metropolitans while neglecting their own people and province. I strongly
believe that your graduation here today will add immense value to our
individual health programmes because you are now experts in various fields or
programmes like Midwifery, Psychiatric Nursing, Primary Healthcare and
Comprehensive Nursing which include psychiatric, community and midwifery. All
these fields are placed high on the provincial health care agenda. They remain
core to the delivery of quality primary healthcare services in our institutions
like hospitals and clinics.
Now, in our province alone, almost 6 734 nursing posts are filled in the
department with about 1 720 posts still vacant. These includes, Professional
nurses, Chief Professional nurses, nursing assistants and staff nurses.
Graduates on comprehensive diploma are already placed in hospitals throughout
the province. Midwifery, Psychiatric and primary healthcare were sent to the
colleges by their respective institutions and provincial hospitals to upgrade
their skills and will return to service their areas. The reality is that we
will not be able to completely fill these vacant posts owing to a few numbers
of graduates we have in the province. The situation is further worsened by the
continued exodus of health professionals because as they leave the province it
means more vacant posts.
We however value the success rate and contribution of the college in
supplying the province with health professionals. It is on record that about
1035 students have graduated from this college since 1994 and most of them were
absorbed in to the department. As a department it pleases us to see that more
and more of our learners increasingly following and graduating in the health
field. The current health environment requires enough personnel who are
equipped with essential skills particularly within the nursing profession. So,
we are please to be here today on a graduation ceremony to officially declare
you fit enough to resume your nursing professions as nurses. We are confident
that you will not disappoint us but the responsibility lies with you to go back
to your community and plough back.
Rest assured, government and the North West Department of Health in
particular is doing everything it can to ensure that the nursing profession
remains a priority in as far as ensuring adequate training and availing
opportunities for further studies. We are constantly looking at various ways of
adding flash to our human resource capacity and when we talk about essential
service for health, we talk about nursing.
So, because we believe nursing to be an essential service it pressures us to
look after it and to ensure that this profession is natured. Over the past few
years the Department has been looking at ways of properly remunerating nurses
particularly those who opt to go to the rural areas where we are generally
experiencing problems of attracting health professionals especially the nurses.
It gives me pleasure to say that at least your day of graduation comes at a
time when we have made significant progress in this area. We now have as your
benefits, the scares skills and rural allowance as way of attracting nurses to
rural areas. You are also sure to benefit from the uniform allowance and a
comprehensive package which includes modernised accommodation facilities, just
to name a few.
One other thing is that, our government now more than ever sees it fit to
make the training for nurses more comprehensive and community based. The
implementation of the new four-year curriculum forms the basis of all nurses
training. We are beginning to produce nurses that are oriented towards the
needs of the community and that are capable of community based nursing
services. This will assist our community health care programmes, as these
nurses will be of great help in communities and clinics of disadvantaged
areas.
One of the government's biggest successes in health delivery since 1994 has
been to increase the facilities available to the people at community level. We
have experienced success in getting more services nearer to the people and we
have better health information to measure this success. However, staffing of
these clinics is often a problem and we believe as you graduate your priority
will be to serve your communities with pride and in the process solve our
problem as more and more nurses are needed at community level. The jobs are
available for you in the North West province! So I plead with you to be
considerate of our challenges and to have the love for your own people and
province and not to rush to other provinces and more developed metropolis for
green pastures.
I wish to emphasise one aspect of the nursing profession that in my own view
is essential if you are to say you are a complete professional and that is to
treat your patients with love and respect. To my disappointment we discovered
that the most outcry of the community has been the unbecoming behaviour of our
nurses. I do believe the training and mentoring you went through in your time
of studies has prepared you well enough psychologically and emotionally to deal
with stressful aspects of being a nurse. If that is the case, I have no doubt
you are fit enough for the profession. As we try our best to dignify the
nursing profession, we definitely need support from nurses themselves. Today
you will take oath before all of us to among others honour the nursing
profession and to treat patients with dignity and respect. Let the oath you
take come from the bottom of your hearts.
Nursing is not an easy profession. It calls for discipline and dedication,
whether in terms of adherence to strict working standards or simply getting
down to all that studying. It does not carry the same profile as pop star or
sporting hero. But it is a profession where quality and indeed, excellence are
prerequisites. We know of certain narrow views and myths that nursing is the
least exciting career. In some instance people would protests on the grounds
that it is a dull and boring profession when advised to take up the nursing
career.
Well, we all know it isn't like that. It is a challenging and potentially
fulfilling profession and additionally the ideal preparation for many
alternative career opportunities in life. I wish the new graduate nurses happy
and rewarding careers and I take this opportunity to thank the college for
inviting me here today.
I thank you very much
Issued by: Department of Health, North West Provincial Government
18 May 2007
