Delay rural posting for grad nurses

Star: MIRI: The nursing fraternity in Sarawak has called on the Health Ministry to reconsider the practice of sending fresh graduate nurses straight from their training college to rural regions.
These freshly-trained nurses will not have the necessary experience or skills to effectively cater to the needs of rural patients, said the chief nursing supervisor of the State Health Department, Fatimah Supiah.
“Immediate rural posting after graduating from training will not do the nurses or the rural folks any good.
“These new nurses do not have necessary experience to deal with complicated ailments and diseases suffered by rural folks. They need to have more job experience before they are sent to the remote regions,” she said.
Fatimah was here to attend a state-level nursing conference, which was launched by State Health and Medical Services Director Dr Yao Sik King recently.
She stressed that in the nursing profession, it was important for graduate nurses to be attached to urban hospitals and clinics where they would be exposed to situations that would help them horn and sharpen their skills and abilities to deal with complex health issues.
Dr Yao, in her address, called on nurses to not just sharpen their nursing skills, but also their public relations and communications skills.
She said it is important for nurses to be able to relate more cordially with patients and their family members to lessen misunderstandings and ill feelings and create a more relax atmosphere to help patients recover faster.