NAB launches campaign to build nurses image

MARANYANE NGWANAAMOTHO
Staff Writer | Thursday November 11, 2010 00:00

Reception received from the health personel such as the nurses makes all the difference to those affected.

So those patiently seated in the waiting room whether young or old in various modes of pain need assurance from the nurses that everything is going to be fine. This assurance comes in the form of love and kind words, something that seems to have fast disappeared. Many can only be nostalgic about the bygone days when nurses were zealous and passionate about their profession, that entails caring for the sick. However, this has all gone and the current nurses in hospitals and clinics are a different mode. Nowadays, queues are endless in hospitals and clinics. Positive reports about a visit to a clinic have become a rarity indeed. Outside the hospitals it is now common to witness young nurses buying snacks, airtime, making phone calls as they reluctantly drag their feet back to the hospital without any real desire to assist the sick.

That is why the Nurses Association of Botswana (NAB) has launched the 'Proud to be a nurse' image campaign yesterday in Gaborone.

NAB vice-president, Malebogo Motsokono told Mmegi in an interview that they realised their image is dying if not dead already. She says the campaign strives to improve the image, reputation and motivation of nurses and midwives hence restoring the trust that the public once had in them. The campaign is also in recognition of 2010 as the International Year of the Nurse. The campaign includes retired and practicing nurses across the country who are acting as ambassadors in the nursing profession; 'We called experienced, mature, dedicated nurses who can and are ambassadors of this profession. These are people who have a passion for the profession and want to go an extra mile in maintaining the image that this profession once had,' she said. After training the ambassadors will take the information back to their respective areas in the various districts where they will in turn train young nurses about the core duties of a nurse, imparting in them the right attitude of a nurse, with the hope of lighting a fire and passion for their profession. They will also inform the public about the roles of a nurse in efforts to build trust again. 'The first person that you will meet before any service is a nurse. We have done a lot and saved lives. We continue to do this even though there are those who will always be a bit of a problem among us,' said Motsokono.