“At present, there is only one nurse per two doctors in Pakistan,” said Dodman while speaking to the graduates. “The recommended nurse to doctor ratio should be 7 to 1. To overcome this shortage, there is a need to train nurses, midwives, and other paramedical staff and ensure that they apply their skills in the health sector.” ILLUSTRATION: THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE
Certificates of completion were awarded to 30 graduates of a United States-funded nurse assistant training programme associated with the Koohi Goth Hospital by US Consul General Michael Dodman on Thursday.
The graduates, women from the rural areas near the hospital, completed nine months of intensive training in basic nursing skills and are now qualified for jobs as nurse assistants - an area of need and opportunity in Karachi.
“At present, there is only one nurse per two doctors in Pakistan,” said Dodman while speaking to the graduates. “The recommended nurse to doctor ratio should be 7 to 1. To overcome this shortage, there is a need to train nurses, midwives, and other paramedical staff and ensure that they apply their skills in the health sector.”
The Research Alliance for Advocacy and Development (RAAD) developed this training programme in collaboration with the Koohi Goth Women’s Hospital, which has been training nurses and midwives for the past eight years.
According to RAAD, the rural areas surrounding Karachi are home to many young, bright, and enthusiastic women without the formal education necessary to realise their dreams of becoming health-care professionals.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 30th, 2013.
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