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16 May 2023 | Story André Damons | Photo Charl Devenish
Prof Mokgadi Matlakala
Prof Mokgadi Matlakala, Academic Chairperson of the Department of Health Studies at UNISA and Deputy Chairperson of the Forum for University Deans in South Africa (FUNDISA), was the keynote speaker and acknowledged the contribution of nurses and the courage to continue to advocate for improved health and healthcare.

Nurses serve with pride, and they should be protected, valued, and respected.

This was the recurring thought from speakers at the University of the Free State (UFS) School of Nursing’s International Nurses Day celebrations.

“We celebrate this day to highlight the importance of nurses in the healthcare services, and to honour our heroes – us being the heroes as well,” said keynote speaker Prof Mokgadi Matlakala, Academic Chairperson of the Department of Health Studies at UNISA and Deputy Chairperson of the Forum for University Deans in South Africa (FUNDISA). “We acknowledge the contribution of nurses and the courage to continue to advocate for improved health and healthcare – and this amid the challenges confronting us.”  

Prof Matlakala said the theme of the day, “Our Nurses. Our Future”, comes at a very critical time for the nursing profession, given the circumstances following the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ongoing transformation needed in nursing education, particularly in South Africa. 

International Nurses Day is celebrated annually on 12 May, and this year the UFS School of Nursing also hosted a tree-planting to commemorate nurses who lost their lives during the pandemic. Several other activities, including an Amazing Race, outdoor events, and stalls portrayed nursing services in various contexts. 

Prof Matlakala said the day also serves as a way of sharing ideas about changes taking place in nursing, and imagining a nurse of the future, both in practice and academia. “In the African context, it is important for us to reflect and understand who our nurses are, where are they, and where have they been trained.”

World mistakenly took nurses for granted

“Today we have an opportunity to celebrate ourselves as nurses, and I encourage you to acknowledge the good work you are doing. And I include the student nurses as well, because they are our future.”

Prof Matlakala said during the pandemic the world mistakenly took nurses for granted. “They treated us as invisible, and as an inexhaustible resource,” she said, outlining areas such as illness among nurses, fear of the pandemic, death, work overload, and unprecedented changes in nursing environments and nursing education as areas where nurses were “taken for granted as superheroes”.

“The pandemic is over, but the question is: Did the nurses receive any counselling after surviving the pandemic? Did they get special leave to rest? In the nursing practice it is business as usual. In nursing education institutions, they are speaking of catching up on the time lost during the pandemic. Nobody is thinking of exhaustion as a non-communicable disease. Yet, many of our nurses are suffering from exhaustion both mentally and physical. It is thus important that we advocate for wellness for our nurses.”

Protect. Respect. Value

Prof Matlakala said protecting nurses relates to how the government or health system can address the growing nursing shortage and provide positive practice environments, especially with regard to safety in the workplace. She also said the ongoing shortage of nurses is a pandemic that is felt across the globe.

Her message to future nurses is that the profession needs nurses who will be available to confront the many challenges nurses are experiencing. “You need to be assertive and take control of your professional status despite the problems we are hearing. One of the values that we need to have is a positive attitude, which means we need to focus on solutions, not only on problems.”

Celebrating the impact of nursing services

Prof Gert van Zyl, Dean of the UFS Faculty of Health Sciences, welcomed guests and said International Nurses Day celebrates the impact of nursing services in providing high-quality healthcare to patients and improving their overall wellbeing. 

“Nurses play a critical role in the healthcare system, providing care, support, and education to patients and their families. Thank you for your dedication and passion for your profession,” Prof Van Zyl said. “Thank you for all the sacrifices you made to provide the highest level of care and support to people in need in the recent COVID-19 time. Moreso, your contribution to the healthcare industry is immeasurable. We are grateful for everything you do and have done. Keep up the excellent work.”

He added that he believes professional nurses are motivated by many factors, including three main ones: “A desire to help others, a sense of purpose, and the satisfaction of making a difference in people’s life. To motivate nurses for the future, it is important to recognise their achievements, to support them, and to provide opportunities for development and growth.” 

Dr Jeanette Sebaeng, Head of the School of Nursing, said she is privileged to be part of this “very sacred” profession. “I had an opportunity to see life for the first time. I had an opportunity to close someone’s eyes for the first time. I don’t think I would be anything else, even in the next life, other than a nurse.” 

She said when 2020 was declared the Year of the Nurse and Midwife, by year-end the meaning had become grim. “We did not expect that it would be our year in that manner. We lost close to 300 nurses in South Africa due to COVID-19. Even after losing our colleagues, here we are, still strong. That is resilience, and for that I salute you.”

News Archive

UFS in joint venture with Empowerdex
2006-11-17

The University of the Free State (UFS) today became the first tertiary institution in the country to sign a joint venture agreement with Empowerdex, South Africa’s foremost black economic empowerment (BEE) ratings agency, to train BEE practitioners that will implement BEE across all sectors of the economy.
 
The agreement was signed by Mr Vuyo Jack, Executive Chairman of Empowerdex and Prof Frederick Fourie, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.
 
Mr Jack and Mr Chia-Chao Wu, Managing Director of Empowerdex, will be appointed as visiting professors in the UFS School of Management as part of the joint venture.
 
“The joint venture entails the establishment of a transformation office within the Centre for Business Dynamics at the UFS which will administer training programmes and conduct contract research on BEE as well as the establishment of a verification agency within the UFS School of Management,” said Mr Danie Jacobs, Head of the Centre for Business Dynamics at the UFS.
 
“The verification agency within the UFS School of Management will be able to verify the BEE compliance of businesses in the Free State and Northern Cape,” said Mr Jacobs.
 
According to Mr Jacobs, the venture originates from the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) directive to draft codes of good practice for businesses as stated in the Broad Based Black Empowerment Act 53 of 2003. The final codes will be announced shortly and will act as a standard framework for the measurement of broad based BEE across all sectors of the economy.
 
The codes comprise seven elements on which basis points are allocated to a business to determine its level of compliance to BEE. 
 
“The UFS is the only tertiary institution in the country which offers a formal certificate whereby BEE practitioners can be trained in order to ensure that they are competent to measure BEE,” said Mr Jacobs.
 
“Being able to utilise the UFS’ experience and expertise in the field of transformation is of great benefit to us and it will assist us in driving BEE in the country,” said Mr Jack. 
 
According to Mr Jack, the UFS is centrally situated, which will make it easy for BEE practitioners to access the appropriate training course to suit their needs. “The venture will have an impact not only on this region, but on the whole country as the extensive networks of both Empowerdex and the UFS will contribute to us reaching and training BEE practitioners,” said Mr Jack. 
 
The training programmes that will be offered by the transformation office within the UFS Centre for Business Dynamics are the Management Development Programme for BEE and Transformation, the Executive Credit Bearing Short Learning Programme and an online Non-Credit Bearing Short Learning Programme for BEE Specialists. 
 
“The expertise and knowledge that Empowerdex brings to the joint venture is invaluable. Empowerdex pioneered the empowerment methodology and has been actively involved in the drafting of broad based BEE legislation, regulations and transformation charters,” said Mr Jacobs.
 
Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel:   (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
17 November 2006
 

Being empowered: Mr Vuyo Jack, Executive Chairman of BEE ratings agency Empowerdex, and Prof Frederick Fourie, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS). Empowerdex and the UFS signed an agreement to train practitioners that will implement BEE across all sectors of the economy.

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