KUCHING: Normah Medical Specialist Centre held its 8th Annual Nursing Conference themed ‘Closing the Gap: Millennium Development Goals’ yesterday.

The objective of the conference was to stimulate and re-energise nurses with innovations and to promote a positive culture in the workplace, where nurses are change agents and leaders of optimal patient outcomes, said Nursing director NadzrahBasri.

It is also meant to create greater awareness of the role of nurses and to take ownership of clinical nursing care, she said.

“The presentation and workshop will warn nurses what words can be misinterpreted and that effective communication influences understanding between individuals,” Nadzrah told a press conference.

She said the theme of the conference demonstrated a proactive culture, where inter-professional team members lead the way using a synergy model to combine efforts and work collaboratively to optimise patient outcomes.

By eliminating systematic barriers, nurses could improve quality and safety in practice, she said.

“The role of a nurse is not one of independence, but one of collaboration among all the members of the medical team. Through effective communication, the strength of each member and their expertise will benefit the course of treatment for patients and their families.”

She pointed out that nursing in the 21st century must be able to recognise that healing requires a holistic approach, where we lead the processes that support the patient, empowering them to take charge of their medical condition.

The conference was designed to lead the fight in being change agents and to recapture nursing and propel it forward into the millennium, she said.

The conference was attended by 160 nurses from throughout the state.

The speakers include nurse specialist Dr Joyce Williams from the United States of America, Resident consultant nephrologist Dr William Chau, Resident Obstetrics & Gynaecology consultant Dr AlvinceDev and representatives from SAINS and Dutch Lady.

Dr Joyce talked about taking ownership of their practise, their impact as practitioners, how to meet challenges and take advantage of opportunities towards empowerment.

Dr Chau spoke about medical errors, how to reduce such occurrences and solutions to the problem.

Dr Dev touched on the safety of patients, staff, and hospital, which is becoming a part of the job description of nurses. He spoke on the challenges faced by the modern nurse like being risk-aware and taking steps to reduce risk to the patient.

source:MJNnews