Botswana nurses will on Thursday (14 May) celebrate Nurses Day at the Sekgoma Memorial Hospital under the theme “Delivering Quality, Serving Communities: Nurses leading care innovations”.
The event, which is honoured annually, was set aside as a Botswana Nurses Day to recognize the contributions that have been made by the nightingales.
Sixty-two nurses will on this day receive awards for the services and the contributions they continue to make in society.
A total of 35 nurses will be awarded the Clinical Excellence Award, which is given to a practicing nurse who stands out in clinical practice, the Long Service and Good Conduct Award, given to nurses having served for 25 years or more and who have shown professional commitment and dedication in the service. It will be awarded to 20 nurses this year.
Meanwhile, 2 nightingales will take home the Teaching Excellence Award, which is awarded to nurses’ lecturers who have been outstanding in the profession and who have also contributed to the development of nursing education in the country.
The maximum for each year under the category is 4 awardees.
Five other nurses will receive awards for outstanding leadership, nursing practice, research, quality improvement, involvement in community projects and professional enhancement under the Meritorious Service Award, which is received by a maximum of 5 years annually.
Nurses Day is celebrated internationally on May 12, as is the birthday of legendary Florence Nightingale. Botswana is one of the 106 countries which signed the “Florence nightingale Declaration for Our Healthy World”.
“We honour Nurses Day yearly but the dates change to commemorate the day,” said Ethel Masilomangwe, the event organizer. “We have commemorated the day in June in some years.”
Masilomangwe said that the Guest of Honour for the day will be Sir Ketumile Masire. She added that the Minister of Health, Lesego Motsumi, will be giving out the awards.
