President Pranab Mukherjee presented the National Florence Nightingale Awards to nursing personnel on the occasion of International Nurses Day at Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Monday.
“Nurses are the largest workforce in the healthcare industry in India and nursing services and capacity building have expanded considerably since Independence and their roles and responsibilities have multiplied over the years,” the President said while speaking on the occasion.
The theme selected by the International Council of Nurses, “Nurses: A force for change — A vital resource for health,” is quite appropriate, he said.
Nurses can participate in strengthening the nursing framework and as trainers and system innovators. They can do much to develop better methods and educate the communities in which they live and work.
Given India’s broader national goals in healthcare reform, the nursing fraternity would need to go even further by substantively contributing to policy development and ensuring that it evolved in the right direction.
