A graduation ceremony has been held in Kumasi for about 3, 500 newly-qualified nurses from 28.

Diploma awarding training institutions nationwide, with a call on them to abide by the ethics of the nursing profession. Professor William Otoo Ellis, Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), said they should at all times render efficient and human-centred services for quality healthcare delivery.

Nursing, he said, since the time of Florence Nightingale, had remained a sacrificial job, and therefore, challenged the nurses to resolve to accept to work under all conditions. The newly-qualified nurses were awarded Diploma Certificates in Midwifery and General Nursing, and had their training under the joint supervision of the KNUST and Ministry of Health (MoH).

The Ministry and KNUST signed an agreement in 2014 to formally give the mandate to the latter to mentor all the Health Training Institutions of the Ministry. By that arrangement, all Nursing and Midwifery Training Colleges, Community Health and Environmental Training Colleges, as well as Health Assistants Training Schools, come under the academic management of the KNUST, including the award of certificates.

Prof. Ellis noted that his University per the arrangement, had the capacity and experience to nurture these institutions into fully-fledged reputable tertiary health training colleges.

He said the KNUST authorities had already embarked on an evaluation and familiarization visits to the health training institutions to ensure that they upheld standards for excellence in their academic work.

The Vice-Chancellor noted that the vision of the University was to train professional nurses and midwives who would practise good quality nursing and midwifery in a more professional manner, to enhance particularly maternal and child healthcare.