| ####

28 / 40

28 / 40

26

M U T

S P I R I T

/ /

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 0

Celebrating our nursing heroes

2020 – International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has designated 2020 as the “International Year of

the Nurse and the Midwife,” in honour of the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s

birth. Florence Nightingale, famously known as the “Lady with the Lamp”, was a nurse

and social reformer who was in charge of nursing wounded British and allied soldiers in

Turkey during the Crimean War. Given the role that nurses have had to play in fighting the

coronavirus, 2020 couldn’t be a more fitting year to commemorate their work.

Sister Nomusa Mkhwanazi

As the biggest segment of the global health workforce,

nurses have not only been providing direct patient

care during the COVID-19 pandemic, but have been

involved in various other areas such as advising

governments, leading research, coordinating public

health teams and helping formulate humanitarian

responses to COVID-19.

Nurses’ wide-ranging expertise, including infection

prevention and control, critical care, palliative care

and public health, is essential to the maintenance

of national and global health systems and the

preservation of lives. As the healthcare professionals

that are closest to patients, they are often exposed to

danger and moral dilemmas, and we salute them for

the critical role they have played and continue to play

during the pandemic.

More especially, we wish to pay tribute to our own

MUT Clinic headed by Sister Nomusa Mkhwanazi,

who took it upon herself to lead a discourse on the

coronavirus at MUT, breaking all barriers to ensure

that staff and students became aware of COVID-19.

The Clinic Team has been at the forefront in training

staff and students on COVID-19.

“...we salute them for the

critical role they have played

and continue to play during

the pandemic.”