The Nursing and Midwifery Council in partnership with the University of Ghana Medical Centre, Mental Health Authority, Teaching Hospitals, Ghana Health Service, Police Hospital, 37 Military Hospital, Ghana College of Nurses & Midwives and School of Nursing & Midwifery, University of Ghana, Legon have launched the Nightingale Challenge and Workshop at the Council’s Head Office via Zoom App.

Sixty-Seven (67) Nurses and Midwives across the country have been selected to take part in the Nightingale Challenge and Workshop which was launched today and expected to end on May 21, 2020. The Nightingale Challenge is one of the programmes of the Nursing Now campaign.

The Nursing Now is a 3-year global campaign launched in 2018 to improve health by raising the status and profile of Nursing and Midwifery. This is because Nurses and Midwives play a crucial role in health promotion, disease prevention and treatment. The campaign will run until the end of 2020, the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth and a year when Nurses and Midwives will be celebrated worldwide.

The Nightingale Challenge

In his opening remarks the Registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council, Mr. Felix Nyante said that the Nightingale Challenge was launched in June 2019. To celebrate 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, the Nightingale Challenge aims to equip and empower the next generation of nurses and midwives as leaders, practitioners and advocates in health.

The Nightingale Challenge asks every health employer around the world to provide leadership and development training for a group of their young nurses and midwives during 2020. The Nursing and Midwifery Council accepted and signed on to the Nightingale Challenge 2020.

By accepting the Nightingale Challenge, we are demonstrating our commitment to investing and championing nursing and midwifery at a time when the world is grappling with the Coronavirus pandemic and how to contain it. The Nursing and Midwifery Council will use its national platforms to promote the activities and achievements of our young nurses and midwives especially in this era of Covid-19 pandemic.

In this Nightingale Challenge, there will be a launch and workshop. There will also be expositions on topics such as Leadership (Next Generations), Implementation Research, Social Media Ethics and Repositioning Clinical Nursing and Midwifery among others.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE 14th GOVERNING BOARD, REV. VERONICA MINA DARKO

This Launch and Workshop were slated for 24th March 2020, but, due to the COVID-19 Global Pandemic and lockdown it had to be postponed to the 12th May 2020. I know this is not co-incidental but it is by the grace of God. It is expedient that we celebrate it today which is the climax of the Celebration.

With our vision of ensuring the availability of Trained Nursing and Midwifery Professionals who will deliver competent, safe, prompt, and efficient professional services for clients’ delight, it became prudent for us as a regulatory body, to accept the Nightingale Challenge and also to partner other pertinent stakeholders to invest in the next generation.

The importance of leadership is now widely recognized as part of overall effective nursing and midwifery practice. Globally, Nursing and Midwifery leadership and engagement are recognized as fundamental drivers for better patient outcomes.

It is the future of Nursing and Midwifery as a profession - not its past - that makes us confident about the young women and men undertaking their nursing and midwifery training, education and practice today.

Many Nursing and Midwifery leaders worldwide are also concerned about what will happen to the nursing and midwifery professions in future because fewer younger nurses and midwives seem interested in leadership positions. The success of our profession hinges on our ability to recruit, develop, and mentor our future leaders.

Ladies and gentlemen, ensuring the competencies, skills, and success of our next generation of leaders requires planning and action. All of us as nursing leaders need to groom our replacements, so they can learn, adapt, prosper, and, critically think about their actions. By dedicating ourselves to this mission, we will make a difference for future generations and for our profession. Issued on May 12, 2020

Felix Nyante (FWACN, FGCNM) Registrar