Nurses charged to be dedicated to work

Accra, Sept. 17, GNA- The 4th English African Region Congress of the International Catholic Committee of Nurses and Medical Social Assistants opened in Accra on Wednesday with a call on nurses to dedicate themselves fully to address health needs of the continent.

About 300 participants from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ireland, Scotland, Uganda and India are attending the five-day congress, aimed at equipping the Catholic health workers with spiritual, moral and specialised skills for them to work in accordance with Christian principles.

The group, popularly known by its French acronym CICIAMS, was established in 1933 to deepen and advocate Christian thinking in the nursing and medico-social profession.

Speaking on the theme, "Dedicated Nurses' Response to the Needs of Africa", the Most Reverend Tomas K. Mensah, Archbishop for Kumasi Metropolis, reiterated that commitment by nurses was key to salvage Africa from its high disease burden.

He said the continent's record of worst health indicators remained high and efforts to improve had been futile, compounded by challenges of limited human resource and health facilities.

Most Rev Mensah defined a dedicated nurse as one who made the conscious decision to set apart from all other nurses and continued to strive to provide comfort and solace to patients despite the daunting challenges.

He reminded nurses that they were privileged to care for the sick and dying and continue the divine healing of God, saying 23 out of the 34 recorded miracles by Jesus Christ were based on healing. "In all these, I encourage you to support each other across your national and continental divide, share your experiences, knowledge, resources and know that we are all the same in the strong desire to serve."

The Most Reverend Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, also asked the nurses and para-medical staff to take a cue from the Good Samaritan parable in the Bible to develop a good attitude for work.

He said: "This is the kind of attitude that Africa needs. It only through sharing deep love and compassion for the suffering this way that you would be walking in the steps of Jesus the divine healer. "Just as Jesus told the lawyer in the Bible after narrating the parable, 'go and do likewise', so do I also charge you."

Major Courage Quashigah (Rtd), Minister of Health, in a statement read on his behalf commended the Catholic Church for its immense contribution to health in the country.

He also charged the nurses to abide by ethics and uphold standards in their profession.

Topics to be treated at the congress include: Modern Trends in Dealing With HIV/AIDS, Filling the Gap in Migrant Nursing, Traditional Medicine vrs Modern Medicine and the Church's Role in Empowering Nurses to Fulfil Their Vocation.