Motivation, Matron Hossinatu Koroma said is not only money but could be in different ways that would influence inspiration for commitment and dedication to service. She encouraged nurses not to place money first but the life of the patient as their call to service is life-saving.

Matron Koroma told her audience that the Directorate of Nursing service is poised to change the face of nursing by putting the profession in a more positive light as against the negative perception by some people.

She disclosed that the Nurses and Midwives Board have been approved by Parliament to a Council status, adding that the operations of the Council will commence soon to effectively regulate the nursing profession to a satisfactory international level.

Matron Koroma spoke about the four new established units in her Directorate and the recently piloted Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programme looking at ethics, the code of practice and professional conduct of nurses in their places of work.

She reminded nurses about the importance of renewing their licenses, pointing out that there is the need to link the issue of license schedule to the continuous professional development schedule when assessing performance on merit.

Matron Koroma reiterated the good lessons learnt from the Ebola outbreak and thanked JICA, WHO and the Royal College of Pediatrics for their assistance to scaling up action on the reduction of maternal and newborn mortality.

Presentation on life saving skills and intervention by the Ola During Children’s hospital and other key presentations formed part of the ceremony.