Nursing Graduates Unemployed Yet Vacancies Exist
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Monday August 21, 2017 16:48
Delivering her keynote address, Dorcas Makgato said she is worried about the vacant positions in the health fraternity, yet so many graduates with the requisite qualifications are not being absorbed into the nursing profession. She added that there is a need for the graduates to meet all the relevant requirements and qualifications to be hired in order to fill the vacant posts.
Makgato said nurses who refuse to be transferred to rural places cause some of the vacant positions.
She said they will in future amend regulations governing nurses to make it compulsory for anyone refusing to be transferred to rural areas without any lawful cause to be transferred to those places. Makgato indicated that her ministry is also aiming to improve the conditions of nurses and increase the specialist nurses, midwife training and separation of progression line of general and specific nurses.
Despite the difficulties encountered by nurses, Makgato urged them to continue being committed and sacrifice even when there are limited resources. She said nurses should continue to support government policies, legislations and other machinery aimed at improving the lives of their communities. The minister said nurses’ support in driving the health care agenda is espoused in the achievements her ministry has and continues to make in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) and other health-related areas. Makgato also challenged nurses to be at the forefront, to be innovative and proactive, being patients’ advocates and to make the work of nurses more appreciated as they look forward to achieving the SDG’s. She said nationally and globally, nurses continue to be the frontline of providing health care. “This advantage should benefit our drive as a ministry of revitalising primary health care approach of promoting healthy lifestyles, preventing the occurrence of illnesses and disease together with advocating for our clients and communities,” she said. She urged nurses to use their advantage to fight against non-communicable diseases and illnesses. She was however concerned about the high numbers of public complaints reaching her office, amongst them, poor work ethic and unacceptable professional conduct by some nurses in their facilities.
“Botho is still lacking despite lessons from our culture, the profession and various other avenues interested in moulding one’s behaviour. I wish to urge the nursing and midwifery leadership to assist the government to strengthen ways to curb this state of affairs,” said Makgato. Botswana Nurses Union (BONU) president Obonolo Rahube said that there is a need as a country to mobilise efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities whilst ensuring that no one is left behind including nurses.
“It is a fact that nurses are left behind on issues that affect their welfare such as under-staffing, poor working conditions, being overworked and lack of professional progression,” he said. Rahube said the nurse-patient ration continues to be high and is currently at 1:230. He added that absorbing unemployed graduates could alleviate the high nurse-patient ratio. He indicated that there are 78 graduates from 2016 with nursing qualifications sitting at home. The BONU president said nurses continue to be congested at the C1 scale, which has been ongoing for the past 10 years, and left unattended. He said that there are also vacant approved posts of D4 and D3 countrywide which are not filled leading to low morale in the nursing fraternity.