The Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NWCN) has inducted the pioneer Nursing Science graduates of Gregory University, Uturu (GUU), Abia State, urging them not only to practise the profession in line with established rules and regulations but also to pursue higher professional degrees and qualifications that would enable them to compete effectively both nationally and internationally.

The professional statutory oath of practice was administered to 21 graduates—comprising 17 females and four males—during the induction ceremony held yesterday at the GUU Auditorium by the NWCN Registrar/Chief Executive Officer, Alhaji Ndagi Alhassan.

The Registrar, who was represented by Mrs. Eleanor Chinwe Nwaka, said:
“The Bachelor of Nursing Science degree programme is a high-standard educational programme, both academic and professional in nature, designed to produce nurses who are adequately equipped with knowledge, clinical skills, and professional intelligence to render safe and efficient healthcare to the populace.

“It is also designed to improve the quality of nursing services in Nigeria by empowering nurses to make sound nursing diagnoses, design appropriate nursing care plans, implement, and evaluate nursing care politically and comprehensively.”

The GUU Vice Chancellor (VC), Professor Cele Njoku, told the inductees that they are stepping into a profession that demands not only their knowledge and skills but also compassion, integrity, and humility.

She (VC), who was represented by her deputy, Professor Regina Ogali, said:
“The world needs healthcare professionals who are not only knowledgeable but also empathetic, and who can listen and understand the human body language behind every sickness,” adding that the oath they took signifies their commitment to these principles.

The Head of GUU’s Nursing Science Department, Associate Professor Chinyere Nwufo, in her address, requested the NWCN to increase the university’s current Nursing admission quota from 50 to 150, saying,
“We have the capacity and capability to train them.”

According to her, nursing is the heart of healthcare. She charged the inducted graduates to go into practice as frontline health givers, advocates for patients, and compassionate voices for the voiceless, encouraging them to touch lives positively wherever they may find themselves.

It will be recalled that these pioneer Nursing Science graduates were formally convoked on December 10, 2024, with the overall best, Miss Agaptus Nichole, earning a First Class with a CGPA of 4.69.