By Elijah Ugani
The premises of the School of Nursing Calabar, Cross River State was filled to capacity as friends, families and well wishers turned out in their numbers to felicitate with their loved ones as 115 Nurses were inducted into the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM).
Performing the induction/oath taking ceremony, the Director Nursing Services Barrister Christy Ekpe who was represented by Mrs. Rita Atuake, administered the oath of allegiance on the inductees and charged them to put in their very best in the discharge of their duties.
In a goodwill message, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Inyang Asibong urged the inductees to be good ambassadors of the institution.
In her words, “It is therefore important to practice your profession with total display of dedication, hard work, honesty, sincerity and diligence which are some of the qualities of a good nurse. Do all in your power wherever you are found to uphold the ethics of your profession as well as protecting the image of your school which you are now ambassadors”.
The Principal of the School Mrs. Effioanwan Amanso in her address noted that for them in the nursing profession, it is a thing of joy to have new hands injected into the workforce to ensure continuity and productivity.
She used the occasion to commend the effort of the State Governor, Senator Ben Ayade for allaying the monstrous news of the school’s closure and the hope of admission which had eluded the school for the past three years.
“I wish to use this occasion to appeal to the Governor to ensure the amendment of the enabling laws to enable the school obtain accreditation for admission from the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria in order to be able to admit and train new set of student nurses in the nursing workforce which for now is without replacement” she said.