4^th Annual Gauteng Nursing Research Conference

Dr Bandile Masuku, the MEC for Health in Gauteng awarding Matron Mary Jane

Wendy Ntshakala

Matron Mary Jane, who is 92 years old, received an honorary award as a Nurse Health Activist who has dedicated herself to helping others. This award was presented during the Fourth Annual Nursing Research conference hosted by the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) on Thursday, 10 October at the Quest Conference Centre.

The annual event, which has taken place towards the end of year since 2016, was organized by Gauteng Nursing Leaders Forum (GNLF), in collaboration with the Chief Directorate of Nursing. This year’s theme was: Back to Basics – Bringing back the noble basic principles in nursing.

The aim of the conference was to focus on the state of nursing in the Gauteng Province and to provide strategies to achieve improved health outcomes for the province’s citizens. The program emphasized four elements necessary to bring back the noble basic principles of nursing: enhance nursing leadership and management; nursing practice; nursing education and training research through sharing of good practices; and promoting nursing.

The conference afforded nurses the platform to identify and discuss the challenges related to the root cause of the deterioration in nursing.

Prof Mabuza said: “We can’t be held back when nursing needs to move to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

Prof Martha Pinkoane, who was responsible for curriculum design and development of a nursing programme at VUT, presented her research study based on the importance of designing and developing a curriculum for nursing. Prof Pinkoane outlined the challenges she faced during the time when she had to pitch her initiative to Government officials and other relevant stakeholders in order to attain her goals.

Dr Bandile Masuku, the MEC for Health in Gauteng, who has been assigned to improve services of patients and tackle the frustrations of the health workers addressed the issue of the statistic that 15.9-million people living in Gauteng have to be served by very few health facilities which impacts negatively on the nursing profession. He said that nursing education should also be implemented in different community sections in order to ensure there are enough workers in health facilities.

“No health without workforce and no workforce without health,” he said.

Mrs Alida du Plessis-Faurie from the University of Johannesburg presented her research study about the living conditions mothers and pre-term infants are faced with when discharged from facilities.

Ms VK Molokomme, from the Department of Health Sciences, at the University of Fort Hare shared her research study which was based on the perceptions of professional nurses on the introduction of the National Health Insurance (NHI) in a private hospital in Gauteng.

Ms Nadia Redelinghuys’s research study covered issue in triage.

In closing, Mama Mary Jane expressed her gratitude by thanking all the nurses and said: “I appreciate your development and progress in building all women to be nurses.”