Vice-Chancellor of Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, Prof. Lawrence Ezemonye, has said the university is committed to training skilled nurses to address the brain drain in the medical profession.
Ezemonye stated this in his address at the 7th professional oath taking/induction ceremony for 16 graduates of Bachelor of Nursing Sciences of the institution.
The Vice-Chancellor described as worrisome, the growing demand for qualified nurses in many regions of the world against the backdrop of the shortage of the professionals arising from the brain drain syndrome.
This, he noted, was affecting the healthcare delivery system in the world, including Nigeria.
He asserted that since the advent of modern medicine, nurses’ role had shifted from being comforters to modern healthcare professionals, who provided evidence-based treatment and wellness education.
“Nurses have a multifaceted role as holistic caregivers, patient advocates, specialists and researchers.
“Incidentally, the demand for qualified nurses is growing in many regions worldwide, particularly in light of nursing shortages exacerbated by the brain drain syndrome amongst medical professions.
“To address this need, Igbinedion University’s College of Health Sciences and the Department of Nursing Science have been in the forefront of training skilled graduate nurses who are contributing their quota to the nation’s healthcare delivery system” he said.
Prof. Emon Duke, former Chairman, National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, delivered the induction lecture, entitled “Nursing Informatics and Information Technology: A Contemporary Trend in Nursing Practice, Administration, Education and Research”.
Duke, who stressed the importance of Informatics in modern nursing practice in the world, described it as “the use of information technology that helps the nurse to process, manage, store and retrieve the information for providing safe and efficient patient care”.
She urged the inductees to develop a positive attitude towards use of technology to maximise productivity.
The don said electronic health records, which nursing informatics encourages, was needed to overcome the weakness of paper records.
In his remarks shortly he administered oath-taking for the inductees, Prof. Faruk Abubakar, the Registrar, Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, advised the new nurses to always function independently and collaboratively with other health professionals in the line of their duties.
Abubakar, who was represented by the Port Harcourt Zonal Officer of the council, warned them against breaching the conduct and ethics of the profession.