Sidra Medicine celebrated International Nurses Day by acknowledging the valuable contribution of the nurses at Sidra Medicine, their roles at the new Sidra Medicine Outpatient Clinic and the onboarding of a new team of Qatari nurses.
International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world every May 12, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. The day was marked at Sidra as a celebration of nursing and the nurses delivering nursing care to patient and families at the Sidra Medicine Outpatient Clinic since 1 May.
The celebrations at Sidra Medicine included presentations by Dr. Kim Critchley, Dean and CEO of University of Calgary Qatar, Dr. Fouzia Al Naimi, the Manager of Health Workforce Development from the Ministry of Public Health Qatar and senior Sidra Medicine leadership. The presentations focused on this year’s theme “Nurses: A Force for Change: Improving Health Systems’ Resilience” and encouraged the nursing community to help strengthen health systems. The nurses were also informed about how local initiatives to advocate for resilient systems can make a significant impact in the efficiency and effectiveness of an entire system – with the potential to become global best practice examples.
“As an organization committed to patient safety, our nurses play a crucial role not only in the front lines of healthcare but also as the backbone of patient treatment. It was very important that we localize this international observance to highlight the role our nurses in achieving the milestone of opening our outpatient clinic on 1 May and their continuous contribution to patient care. We are also delighted to welcome our second group of Qatari nurses to the team of ten who just graduated from the University of Calgary Qatar,” said Prof. Mary Boyd, Chief Nursing Officer at Sidra.
With clinics launching every month through the course of 2016, the referral based Sidra Medicine Outpatient Clinic is expected to see nearly 5000 patients a week once it becomes fully operational by January 2017. It currently has a diverse range of nurses across pediatric and maternal specialties including ten Qatari nurses.
Noof Al Kuwari, Sidra Medicine’s first Qatari nurse who joined in September 2014 said, ”Being a part of the nursing profession has been a major personal life achievement for me. It gives me great pride and satisfaction that my role as a nurse means that I am in a position to help the women and children in my community. And to have a day dedicated to nurses is an acknowledgement of our important role in society. I am also happy that I am part of a growing family of dynamic, inspirational and professional nurses and leaders at Sidra Medicine who are committed to offering the best patient and family focused care in the country.”