Nurses, Midwives admonished to change negative attitude towards patients

The Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Registered Nurses’ and Midwives’ Association, Joseph Krampah, has appealed to nurses and midwives to change their negative attitude towards patients as it defames the profession of nursing and midwifery.

According to him, the nursing profession, among other things, is a profession based on compassion.

In an interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show, he explained that midwives and nurses are trained to withstand and handle the rage of patients. However, when nurses allow their temper get the best of them, it can be disastrous.

He stressed the need for compassion when he stated, “We need to have compassion for patients. For example, imagine a breadwinner comes to the hospital with a headache; on the surface, you may regard that as just a headache. But the person may be thinking about who will provide for his family as he has been admitted. That alone is psychological stress. So the nurses need to have compassion”.

He admitted that not every nurse will show compassion to the patients probably because of their upbringing, apathy towards the profession, or lack of self-control when irritated by patients.

He, however, assured that the necessary investigative and disciplinary measures have been put in place to ensure that aggrieved patients are satisfied.

He noted also that these processes are conducted with the code of professional conduct for nurses in play. “The code of professional conduct notes that nurses should uphold the reputation of the profession. Their behavior must at all times bring credit to the profession”, he added.

Some Ghanaians have over the years complained about the abusive behaviour of nurses towards patients which some belief aggravates the sickness of the patient.