International Nurses Day

Lae district nursing officer, Sr Manzia Bomiringnu, outlined this during the commemoration of International Nurses Day as well as the 50^th golden jubilee of the PNG Nurses Association on Friday, May 12^th.

 Sr Bomiringnu has 43 years of service under her belt.

She said those in public health started in the bushes.

The celebration was timely given the current COVID-19-induced State of Emergency in the country and the subsequent lockdown measures Ok Tedi Mining Limited had imposed within the mining township.

The celebration marked the 200^th anniversary of Florence Nightingale, the founder of Modern Nursing with the theme, ‘Nurses a Voice to Lead: Nursing the World to Health’.

A short ceremony was held where the nurses and midwives sang hymns, lit candles and recited the Nurses pledge.

Nursing is about caring and the model of care used is a holistic approach, says Sr Jayasree Kumar, the Director of Nurses (DoN) with Pacific International Hospital.

The approach, she says, includes primary nursing care which indicates attention from the start.

“A patient’s basic fundamental needs are food, water, air, shelter. These are essentials for existence. Nurses actually help patients meet those needs,” she said.

She describes it as a scared concept.

International Nurses Day (May 12) celebrates the work of nurses throughout the world.

Other activities marking the event at Bates oval included，choir，speeches and drama.

The theme for this year’s event is Nurse：A force for change。 “Improving Health System’s Resilience“

The Madang nurses while at Bates oval also conducted free medical checks on sugar level， blood pressure and others for the public who came to watch the proceedings。