The Vice-Chancellor of Redeemer’s University, Prof. Shadrach Akindele, and some medical experts have urged nurses to demonstrate compassion to patients in their profession, as exemplified by Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing.

This charge was given on Thursday as the Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, inducted 82 of its students into the nursing profession.

Speaking at the induction, awards, and oath-taking ceremony at the institution’s premises, Akindele said that four of the students had achieved a first class and 64 had achieved a second class.

Akindele urged the inductees to be good ambassadors of the university and the nursing profession.
The VC, who commended the students for their courage during the learning period, urged them to be professional and compassionate in their field of operation.

In her remarks, Dr Deborah Onisile, Acting Head of the Department of Nursing Science at the university, stated that since the department’s inception in 2017, it has consistently demonstrated a commitment to academic excellence.

Onisile said that the department recorded a 100 per cent pass rate in the Registered Nursing Council Examination and with an impressive six consecutive outings in the Midwifery examination and the Public Health Nursing Examination.
She urged the inductees to be ambassadors of compassion, care and humanity.

“As you embark on this noble profession, remember that you are not only representatives of Redeemer’s University but also ambassadors of compassion, care, and humanity,” she said.

The induction keynote speaker, Prof. Adesola Ogunfowokan, of the Department of Nursing Science at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, urged the inductees to prepare themselves to contribute to humanitarian and developmental works.

Ogunfowokan, who spoke on the theme: “Nursing Without Borders: An Unconventional Pathway,” said that the inductees needed to be prepared mentally and physically to face the challenges in the nursing profession.

According to her, nurses require spiritual strength to work under demanding conditions.

Referencing the humanitarian example of Florence Nightingale, Ogunfowokan noted that she was an exemplary nurse who embodied the definition of nurses who work beyond borders.

She urged the inductees to follow the footsteps of Nightingale by focusing on improving the living condition where poverty exist and providing good medical care where needed.
“Embracing the field of nursing without borders, the nursing profession can lead to achieving universal health coverage,” she said.