.gif)
Fiji’s latest intake of student nurses have spent two days with the police and the military acquiring defence force style discipline, a nurses graduation ceremony has been told today.
Fiji National University School of Nursing director Albert McLaren told the ceremony that the school wants its graduates to have military and police training to help them develop discipline and honesty.
The school enrolled 200 students this year.
McLaren announced that intakes had been boosted from 123 previously to 200 this year.
Chief guest, Prime Minister CommodoreVoreqe Bainimarama, said government had increased the nursing establishment size “which is to grow over the next three years to assist in improved working conditions and more employment opportunities along with better services”.
Bainimarama said it was important to encourage doctors, nurses and health care providers in order to improve the public health system and the delivery of medical services to those on the lower end of the socio-economic scale.
He said rehabilitation works are underway in existing health care centers and hospitals and to purchase new equipment.
The government wants to improve health services to all Fiji citizens, Bainimarama said.
“This also means the government is focused in ensuring that nurses, integral to providing professional health services, are given appropriate equipment, training, work conditions and career paths.”
One hundred and twenty three students graduated with nursing qualifications today as part of the first graduation ceremony within the FNU since its establishment earlier last month.
FNU Vice Chancellor, Dr Ganesh Chand congratulated the students adding they were fortunate to be part of a historic event.
“Our role is to produce first class nurses in Fiji and we must ensure we produce the medical professionals who people benefit from,” he said.
Amongst the graduates were students from Nauru, Tuvalu, Tonga, Kiribati and Vanuatu.
Bainimarama said that considering the nature of work that nurses do, they make up more than 50 percent of Fiji’s total health professionals and are the single largest group within the health services sector.
The graduation was a big moment for Sereima Lala Vatuvatu, a mother of three who received the highest marks for the Bachelor of Nursing Science Degree.
