Medcare celebrates International Nurses' Day

The celebrations, which took place at Medcare Hospital in Jumeirah, honoured the hard work of the organisation's 130-strong nursing workforce and awarded special cash prizes for three individuals who were voted as having performed an exceptional level of service to their patients and colleagues.

Speaking at the special occasion, Nurse Manager for Medcare, Ms. Daleen Kruger, was full of praise for her staff.

"Nurses are by far the most visible members of any hospital's workforce, so the impact and impression they create is tremendous," she said. "I am very proud of the nurses across the departments at Medcare, as they are, without exception, consummate professionals who take great pride in their work".

Ms. Kruger was keen to explain how quickly her healthcare team had gelled together, considering the hospital's relatively young age of little over one year.

"We are truly an international community here at Medcare and we serve an international community that is Dubai. This has been something that has helped the nurses perform together so well," she said.

"Medcare Hospital has only been open for one year, yet in that time it has achieved the internationally recognised Joint Commission International accreditation, which is the acknowledged benchmark for the highest level of care," she added. "This was awarded to us in a record seven months and is in part due to the superb effort and high standards provided by the nurses here".

Most of the nurses attending the celebrations at Medcare were actually working a duty shift, meaning that they could pop down on their breaks from their respective departments to grab a slice of the specially commissioned cake that had been ordered for the day.

After a number of speeches and presentations were made by senior members of the hospital staff, who praised the dedication of the nursing workforce, it was time to honour the individuals who had been voted as being outstanding by their colleagues.

Collecting the award for 'Rookie Nurse of the Year' was Katherine Llanes from Medcare's outpatient department, who it was felt had made the most positive impact of any nurse within their first three months of employment at the hospital.

Along with her commemoratively signed plaque, Katherine, who hails from the Philippines, also collected a cheque for Dhs300 as a reward for her tireless endeavours.

Next to be called to the rostrum was Sweety Jose, an Indian national, who also works in the outpatients department.

She picked up the "Nurse of the Year Award" and Dhs500 for demonstrating an exceptional performance over the preceding 12 months.

Finally, the recipient of the 'Dr Moopen's Excellence in Nursing Award' was Sini John, a nurse who carries out her duties in the Medcare Intensive Care Unit.

She collected her prize from Ms. Ziham Moopen, daughter of Dr. Moopen, Chairman of the Moopen Group, which manages Medcare Hospital.

Sini had been able to demonstrate to the judges an exceptional level of practical and cognitive nursing skills and after being presented with her award, was quick to dedicate it to her husband.

"I will be giving my Dhs1,000 prize that I received for this award to my husband, who is in India at the moment," she said. "I owe it to him, as he taught me how to dedicate my life to others," she added.