The Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof. George K.T. Oduro, has advised nurses and midwives to serve their clients with care and empathy in the discharge of their professional duties. He implored nurses to make an impact on humanity so as to ensure proper delivery of healthcare. “If people(nurses) know the importance of caring for those in pain; the importance of caring for the aged, they will be adding value to humanity,” he said. According to him, when nurses show care and empathy towards their patients, they (patients) were able to recuperate fast from their medical conditions. Prof. Oduro gave the advice at the opening of a three-day Pain Management and Palliative Care workshop organised by the Directorate of University Health Services on the theme “Pain Management and Palliative Care”. Prof. Oduro recalled with sadness how the unprofessionalism of some nurses at a health facility in Swedru led to the demise of his father-in-law. According to him, despite his plea to the nurses to come to the aid of his father- in- law whose health was fast deteriorating, the nurses turned a deaf ear to his plea, resulting in the untimely death of the deceased. Accordingly, he reminded nurses and midwives about the mother of modern nursing Florence Nightingale’s professionalism which earned her the name “the lady of the lamp” as a result of her empathy, care, devotion, respect for human dignity, altruism, sympathy, commitment and dedication to attend to the sick and the injured even at wee hours when her colleagues were fast asleep. Prof. Oduro entreated nurses to be committed to their work and urged them to strive to give the profession, which he described as calling, a good name. The Pro-Vice-Chancellor called on nurses and midwives to refrain from all forms of negative acts and strictly abide by the codes and ethics of the profession. For his part, a Consultant Family Physician and Palliative Care Specialist, Dr. Mawuli Gyakobo, encouraged nurses to put the interest of patients above their own personal interests. He noted that healthcare professionals were all potential patients and, therefore, advised them to treat patients with care and love. Other topics treated during the workshop were “Overview of Pain Management and Palliative Care”; Difficult Communication”; “Introduction to Pain”, “Mechanism of Pain”, and Practical/Demonstration: Pain Assessment”.
