58 nurse managers appointed

A TOTAL of 58 nurse managers were appointed at the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (Ripas) Hospital to improve nursing services and provide better care for their patients.

The primary objective of the appointment of these nurse managers was to help facilitate administrative services and care for the patients and their families, said Acting Head of Nursing Officers Pg Hj Zainal Pg Hj Md Daud.

"The nurse managers will also be role models for other staff, to strive towards an efficient, committed, innovative, accountable and productive administration," he said, adding that nurse managers can also help reduce nurse negligence and undesired complaints from clients.

Pg Hj Zainal also spoke of the practical roles and deployment of nurse managers, particularly in the field of handling emergencies. "A number of plans have already been executed such as the deployment of nurse managers in the National Disaster Management Centre and the operations room during the floods and landslides."

Other programmes to better inform and equip the nurse managers include counselling, effective leadership and effective communication workshops, while effective team building exercises are also scheduled to take place at the Civil Service Institute (IPA) in April. "I also hope with the cooperation of the nurse managers, we can release a Nurse Managers Job Description Booklet for future references," he added.

On hand to present the newly appointed nurse managers with name tags, appointment letters and log books was Ripas Hospital Acting Head of Executive Officers Hjh Siti Mariam Hj Md Jaafar.

She spoke of the daily challenges faced by nurses today, challenges which include confronting patients, doctors, hospital staff and others, before emphasising the roles of these nurses.

"What I am stressing is that as long as we are healthcare workers, our main priority is our clients, in this case our patients," she said, adding that an effective and dedicated nurse manager plays an important role in the safety of patients. (MJH1)The Brunei Times