Nurses Do it for the Nurses

BY: .

UKZN’s Nursing Discipline celebrated International Nurses Day (IND) by hosting an event themed Nurses also have a Right to Health. The event was held at the College of Health Sciences’ George Campbell Building at Howard College campus.

The international day is celebrated around the world on 12 May, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, to mark the contributions nurses make to society. The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has celebrated this day since 1965.

Third-year Nursing students together with their lecturers put together a programme that saw all the Nursing academics go through; health assessment, kick-butt exercise, therapeutic relaxation technique and massages.

all the lecturers were screened for; wrist measure, waist circum, hip measure, forearm measure, Weight, BMI and blood pressure by five third-year students at the Discipline’s Skills Lab.

The screening was followed by a 10 minutes kick-butt exercise led by Nursing Lecturer Dr Sipho Mkhize. Mental Health lecturer, Mrs Charlotte Engelbrecht did the therapeutic relaxation technique.

School of Nursing and Public Health Principal Programme Officer, Benina Mkhonto treated the nurses with massages, ranging from head and neck to full body massages.

Nursing academic leader; Professor Gugu Mchunu thanked the students for making the day possible. She encouraged students to read, plan their nursing careers and also think about where they want to be when they are 40. ‘You must learn and leave a footprint where you work,’ advised Mchunu.

The organisers Mkhize and third-year lecturer, Mrs Pretty Mbeje said they were happy to see how their colleagues enjoyed the service. They were also grateful to Mrs Ann Jarvis for designing and creating a health passport for the day.

Mkhize said the idea came about after the South African Nursing Council said, ‘We acknowledge the efforts from nurses in the healthcare environment. However, it has been noted that nurses tend to forget they also have a right to health. That is the reason we have decided to emphasise the importance of nurses’ health in this year’s International Nurses Day by putting more focus on stress and hypertension.’

Words: Nombuso Dlamini