The Hindu : National : President's counsel to nurses

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Sunday, May 13, 2007
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President's counsel to nurses

Staff Reporter

``Become knowledge workers in tune with new technology''

— Photo: V. Sudershan

President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam with some of the awardees after presenting the Florence Nightingale Awards for nursing personnel in New Delhi on Saturday.

NEW DELHI: President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam gave away the prestigious Florence Nightingale Awards to 17 nursing personnel from across the country at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Saturday.

Congratulating the award winners on the occasion of the International Nurses Day, the President said good nurses are the products of moral rectitude, maturity and a deep understanding of the character traits needed to care for sick and vulnerable people.

Rapid advancement

Stating that nurses need to keep up with the rapid advancement in the health care system, Mr. Kalam said: "We need to look into the creation of specialities and super specialities in medicine. In the 21st century nurses have to become knowledge workers because of the advancement in health care technologies. It is essential that there be common classes in physiology, psychology and anatomy for graduate and postgraduate nurses along with students of medicine. Also, the Indian Nursing Council should review their nursing courses continuously in view of the continuous technological changes taking place. Nurses should undertake programmes to upgrade their skills and knowledge."

President Kalam added: "I also request every nurse to become a teacher for the families of patients. By this complementary role, the workload on the doctors will come down and the patients and their families will be benefited substantially."

Present at the function were Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Anbumani Ramadoss, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Panabaka Lakshmi and senior Union Health Ministry officials.

Those who received the awards were: Tahira Hashim Ali Khan, Cheryl Susan Tada, Madhu Puri, Udaysinh D. Damor, Salomey George, Bhosale Vijaya Baburao, Shashi Bala, Margaret Dean, Anna Siromani Rajan Babu, Chellamal Mariappan, Hardeep Kaur, Khatija M. Shaikh, Reena Bose, Zawlthuomkin, Subasini Jena, C. Mahalakshmi and M. Goswani.

The awards were last presented in 1986.

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