Praise for ‘noble’ nurses

 NURSING is a noble profession and nurses are always with patients, Health secretary Pascoe Kase said on World Nurses Day yesterday.

Kase commended nurses for their work while addressing issues they faced during celebrations at Jack Pidik Park in Port Moresby.

The issues include :

• An update on the review and costing for the nurses award from 2014 to 2016. A proposal has been submitted to the health department by the PNG Nurses Association for review;
• a chief nursing position in the Health Department to advocate on health workers; and,
• The Health Department to address the shortage of nurses in the country so that they can provide quality health service to the people.

Kase said the department was aware of the issues and acknowledged the nurses for choosing a theme based on “change” because the Government through the Health Department, wanted change for a healthy nation.

He said the department had conducted an assessment and analysis of the nurses’ proposal which was now before the department’s senior executive management. It will later be submitted to the Department of Personnel Management to be implemented next year.

Kase said trainers in the School of Nursing and nurses providing advice at the management level must prepare a separate proposal to avoid disparities in the current structure.