Nurses urged to use skills to fight Covid-19 in Kenya

Nurses

Nurses at PCEA Nakuru West Medical College in procession during the seventh graduation ceremony on January 14, 2022.

Photo credit: Francis Mureithi | Nation Media Group

Nurses joining the job market have been urged to use their skills to combat the Covid-19 pandemic in Kenya. 

The call was made by Dr Daniel Wainaina, the Acting Chief Officer for Public Health Services at Nakuru County government during the seventh graduation ceremony at PCEA Nakuru West Medical College on Friday.

Dr Wainaina said the nurses were entering the job market at a time when their input will be needed to reduce the ever increasing human resource gaps.

"As we continue to fight Covid-19 pandemic, you will be counted as one of the pillars of health delivery at a time when the human resource is more strained," said Dr Wainaina.

 He said the graduation of 56 nurses, who were awarded diplomas, will go a long way in bolstering the county’s efforts to fight Covid-19 and improve health service delivery.

He observed that the new nurses graduated at a time when the world had become a global village and urged them to aim to become global workers.

However, he said that this will only be possible if the new nurses invest in improving their skills and knowledge.

"Some of our nurses have gone through unpleasant experiences in their attempt to migrate to the United Kingdom (UK) for greener pastures after they failed the English language test required to allow them to practice in the UK and I urge you to improve your skills and knowledge and avoid such challenges," said Dr Wainaina.

Last year, only a few Kenyan nurses and other health workers got a chance to work in the UK as part of a new scheme requested by the Kenya government after 97 per cent failed the English test requirement for UK Jobs.  

He told the new nurses that there were many opportunities and challenges ahead of them in the job market.

"Life is full of challenges and opportunities and those who make it grab the opportunities and turn the challenges into learning points."

He said there were many vacancies for nurses in the county and across the country and urged them to abide by the Florence Nightingale Hippocratic Oath for Nurses.

He announced that the county will soon announce vacancies for 100 positions in the health sector and urged the nurses to apply.