Northern Pulse

By Aderogba George

Mrs Mary Oritimehin, Provost of Oasis College of Nursing Sciences, Kuje, Abuja, has urged government at all levels to improve the remuneration of nurses as a motivation to give their best to the profession.

Oritimehin, who made the call during the matriculation of 113 students of the college in Abuja, also called for an improved working environment for nurses to end brain drain in the health sector.

She noted that a high premium was being placed on Nigerian Nurses abroad due to the vigorous training they received.

She, however, complained that poor remuneration and working conditions in Nigeria were driving the nurses out to foreign countries in search of greener pastures.

“Huge resources are being spent in training nurses in the country without retaining them to develop the health systems.

“It doesn’t make sense that resources will be spent training them and they won’t stay back to develop the healthcare system.

“However, the challenge can be addressed by intentional policy aimed at making life easy for nurses. This will enable them to practice their profession in the country seamlessly,” she said.

The provost said that governments should make concerted efforts to retain the nurses that were being trained in the country by giving them a better life through improved remuneration, self esteem and a conducive working environment.

“When there is an opportunity for them to enhance their standards of living here, moving abroad will become unattractive,” she said.

She said that the current situation where two nurses attend to more than 40 patients was not good for their mental health and the image of the nursing profession.

Oritimehin disclosed that about 113 matriculated students were admitted to study both basic and national diploma courses in nursing.

She said that the students would be trained to contribute towards the development of Nigeria’s health systems.

In his remarks, the Registrar of the College, Mr Chukwudi Odoh, said that the institution was working hard to contribute to the development of manpower for the country’s health sector.

Odoh said that different regulatory bodies, such as the Nursing Council of Nigeria National Board for Technical Education and the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board have given necessary approvals for the admission.

One of the students, Michael Amarachi, expressed excitement for securing admission in the college to study basic nursing.

“I can’t stand seeing sick people without helping them. When my uncle died, I was in so much pain that I couldn’t help.

“So, I chose to study nursing to be able to contribute my quota in improving the health of the Nigeria population,” he said.