Nurse of the Year to Focus on Empowering Women

Nurse of the Year for 2025, Fione Collins, will be using her platform to empower women through her ‘I Win’ project.

The initiative focuses on resilience-building among women who are facing challenges, to strengthen them and “to let them know that while they may be hurting, while they may be struggling, that they can make it,” she said in an interview with JIS News.

Nurse Collins contended that when women are empowered, they are able to make life-changing decisions to attain their goals, and uplift and encourage others to reach their full potential.

“They are able to do more and achieve more, and when they achieve more, they have that ability to assist others who may be going through similar situations. Persons tend to gravitate towards individuals who have had similar experiences and are overcomers because they can see what is possible,” she pointed out.

Nurse Collins, who took the coveted title at the LASCO/NAJ Nurse of the Year awards ceremony in July, said she will also be focused on promoting wellness and encouraging persons to take charge of their health.

“One of the things that I will be doing [is] engaging in health promotions and education sessions at various schools, communities, service clubs, and also to engage in health fairs as well,” she told JIS News.

She will also collaborate with the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) to stage special activities for children.

Nurse Collins, who is the Deputy Director of Nursing Services at the Percy Junor Hospital in Mandeville, Manchester, said the annual LASCO/NAJ Nurse of the Year competition “gives nurses a voice, allowing them to feel valued and for others to know our worth”.

“We are not just giving injections and medications, but [also] we are innovators, we are scientists,” she said.

The 27-year veteran of the profession said there is a sense of fulfilment in helping persons who are sick to get better.

“There is satisfaction in having someone come to you feeling very ill and you are able to intervene and see that person getting well, moving out, and saying to you ‘nurse, God bless you.’ Sometimes you are on the street, and you will hear that,” she told JIS News.

“I feel good that I could give back to somebody, assist them in order to alleviate their suffering, promote health and allow them to go back to function in their daily activities,” she added.

Registered nurse at the Mandeville Regional Hospital, Machel Edwards-Lewis, was first runner-up in the competition, while Charge Nurse at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), Antonette Bent, was second runner-up.

Regional Director at the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA), Michael Bent, expressed pride that the top-two positions in the competition went to personnel from the health region.

He noted that the achievement is a testament to the region’s development programme, which is focused on “not just the core skills but also the soft skills”.

Last year, SRHA copped the top-three positions in the competition.

“We have been doing that over the last four or five years – developing people. These are some of the things that would have helped our nurses to come out on top. Part of our mantra is to ensure that we help people to optimise their potential,” Mr. Bent said.