Rev Dr John Osei Appiah
Nursing is fashioned in order of the military, where mistakes and negligence are not considered as mistakes, but as acts of indiscipline and criminal mindedness, Dr Michael Wombeogo, the Council Chairman of the Neumann College of Nursing in Kumasi, has said.
“As you make up your minds to study nursing, be ready to be among the nurses in future that will be quality reminiscent of the new Nightingale in Ghana, full of hope, knowledge and skill, ready to save lives and lead people in a new order,” he said.
Dr Wombeogo, a senior lecturer at the University of Development Studies (UDS), said these in a speech he delivered at a matriculation ceremony held at the college on Thursday where 250 students were admitted to pursue a degree programme in Nursing.
He charged the students to consider the days of rote learning a thing of the past, where students are committed to memorising every single sentence or thought handed down by the lecturer.
The senior lecturer advised the students to eschew acts of indiscipline and live a life worthy of emulation, as the behaviour they put up outside the precincts of the college does not reflect the person in them alone but also reflects on the image of the college.
The President of the Neumann College of Nursing, Rev Dr John Osei Appiah, on his part, appealed to the government to strengthen the implementation of the private-public participation in Ghana (PPP) for the local private school entrepreneurs.
According to him, President Akufo-Addo’s support of public colleges and universities must equally be extended to the accredited private tertiary institutions as it is done in many countries.
He pointed out that parents of both public and private tertiary institutions pay taxes, hence any allowances and grants paid to public nursing trainees must equally be extended to the private nursing trainees of accredited institutions.
In the opinion of the Neumann College boss, students both public and private institutions render patriotic services to the nation so they must be treated equally and fairly to encourage local foreign investors in the sector.
The Pro-Vice Chancellor of UDS, Professor Seidu Alhassan, urged the students not to share the responsibilities assigned them, insult or maltreat their patients but respect them.
He advised them to be studious so as not to become professionals but relevant nurses after their four-year period of studies.
FROM James Quansah, Kumasi