Nurse Expresses Passion For Profession

LASCO/NAJ Nurse of the Year 2023 Shantal Remekie, has expressed passion and appreciation for the nursing profession.

Ms. Remekie, who is also the reigning Caribbean Nurse of the Year, and a Registered Nurse at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), said nursing enables the privilege of caring for countless individuals, during some of their most vulnerable moments.

“As a nurse, you bear witness to life’s hardest and most touching moments. Your presence, your competence and your kindness make it better day by day. I have had the privilege of caring for countless individuals during some of their most vulnerable moments,” she said.

She was delivering the keynote address at an event to handover a $1million scholarship to former student of St. Jago High School, Kessandra James, from the diaspora group Pollyanna Project, for a four-year programme at the University of Technology (UTech), Jamaica.

The ceremony was held at the Brother-in-Law Rotisserie in Old Harbour, St. Catherine, on July 30.

Ms. Remekie said she discovered her calling to be a healthcare professional, after volunteering at a nursing home, and while caring for her ailing grandmother.

“I was never demotivated, I was never burdened, but it gave me great joy when there was some amount of or a tiny bit of my intervention being effective,” she said.

Meanwhile, Ms. Remekie said the scholarship presented to Ms. James is a recognition of her hard work and “readiness to step into one of the most demanding yet fulfilling professions imaginable.”

“I stand before you today, not just as a professional in the health care field, but as someone deeply committed to nurturing and uplifting the next generation of nurses. The scholarship is more than financial support. It is a vote of confidence in your potential,” she stated.

The decorated nurse also highlighted the International Council of Nurses (ICN) theme for 2025 which is ‘Our Nurses, Our Future, Caring for Nurses Strengthens Economy’.

She said it emphasises the critical role the health workforce plays in strengthening economies, improving health systems, and “ensuring better outcomes for our communities worldwide.”

“Nursing is a powerful blend of art and science. It demands intellectual rigor, technical skills, but it is equally a profession of profound human connection,” she stated.