The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria has charged nurses to be committed to the provision of quality service, compassion and well-being of others.
The council’s Registrar, Ndagi Alhassan, gave the charge on Friday during the induction of 92 nursing graduates of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti.
Alhassan, represented by Aliu Adamu, advised nurses on quality service delivery at all times, as he charged the inductees, “Today marks a significant milestone in your journey as you are embarking on your professional career. Be dedicated to compassion, caring, and commitment to the well-being of others.”
While administering the oath, the Registrar charged the inductees to uphold the ethical standards of the profession and be committed to providing quality care.
He hailed the ABUAD founder, Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), for his huge investment in education, hence the institution’s ranking as the best university in Nigeria and 72nd globally.
Alhassan said, “I commend the founder of this institution, Aare Afe Babalola, for his giant strides in education. I also sincerely congratulate the parents and guardians of the inductees for their commitment, support, and contributions both morally and financially towards the remarkable achievement of the inductees in this institution”.
ABUAD Vice Chancellor, Prof Smaranda Olarinde, charged the inductees to develop competence, embrace global relevance and provide quality care in a rapidly changing healthcare environment.
Olarinde said, “In a world confronted by complex health challenges, climate shocks, emerging diseases and global pandemics, the role of the nurse has become more indispensable than ever before. At ABUAD, we strongly affirm that Nursing remains the mother of Medicine and the heartbeat of every functional healthcare system.
“Just yesterday, the university Senate approved an Artificial Intelligence policy for the institution, making us a leading institution in Nigeria to have adopted the ethical use and implementation of AI in learning, research and innovation”.
In her lecture titled: Nursing Beyond the Bedside: Leading Practice, Education and Research in the AI Era, a professor in Medical Surgical Nursing at the University of Ibadan, Prof Beatrice Ohaeri, stressed that empathy was the core value of a nurse.
Ohaeri said that though AI had greatly improved healthcare services, it could not provide empathy, as she urged the inductees to “be compassionate”.
The don said, “Therefore, nurses must actively engage in AI-driven development, while maintaining the professional core values of compassion, intimacy and the vision of self-perception. “
