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Dr. Tufton Urges Nurses To Serve With Compassion

By: , February 17, 2020

The Key Point:

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, is encouraging nurses to show compassion in caring for patients.
Dr. Tufton Urges Nurses To Serve With Compassion
Photo: Serena Grant
Students of the University of Technology (UTech) Caribbean School of Nursing attend the striping ceremony held at the St. John’s Methodist Church Action Centre in St. James on Friday (February 14).
Dr. Tufton Urges Nurses To Serve With Compassion
Photo: Serena Grant
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, gives the keynote address at the University of Technology (UTech) Caribbean School of Nursing striping ceremony held at the St. John’s Methodist Church Action Centre in St. James on Friday (February 14).

The Facts

  • He advised them against continuing in the profession if they do not love what they do.
  • “If you don’t love it, don’t continue. It is very important because the only way you are going to practise with compassion is if your heart and soul are into it,” he said.

The Full Story

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, is encouraging nurses to show compassion in caring for patients.

He advised them against continuing in the profession if they do not love what they do.

“If you don’t love it, don’t continue. It is very important because the only way you are going to practise with compassion is if your heart and soul are into it,” he said.

“We can’t give lip service to compassion. Service with compassion, service with empathy, you can’t pretend. If it is not done with sincerity, if it’s not done from the heart, the people that you provide service to, they will feel it when you fake it,” he added.

Dr. Tufton was addressing the University of Technology’s (UTech) Caribbean School of Nursing striping ceremony held at the St. John’s Methodist Church Action Centre in St. James on Friday (February 14).

The Minister noted that nurses play a critical role in the healthcare system and form “the overwhelming majority of the public health fraternity”.

“Of the 17,000 or so persons, who work in public health, between 4,000 or 5,000 fall into the category of nurses, midwives and all the other associated areas. So there is no other population in public health, any other segment of the overall population that is as large as yours,” he noted.

“You have the capacity to make a profession rise and shine, depending on your level of motivation, compassion, caring and technical competence. You also have the capacity to make the profession dull, boring and even fail,” he said.

During the ceremony, symbolic stripes are presented to 216 first to fourth-year students in nursing and midwifery who have met the academic and professional requirements of their respective levels of study.

The function was held under the theme ‘Empathy and compassion: The hallmark of caring’.

Last Updated: February 17, 2020

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