20th April, 2019
The National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) Federal Health Institutions Sector, has urged nurses to go into entrepreneurship in order to bridge the unemployment gap bedevilling the profession.
Mr Wale Olatunde, National Chairman of the association, who gave the advice on Saturday, in Abuja, frowned at the number of nurses in the labour market.
Olatunde said that the association was encouraging members to begin to stand on their own through entrepreneurship since the government was unable to employ everybody.
“We should be able to put on our thinking caps to explore every opportunity around us. Every nurse should find or look for what they can do for themselves rather than staying idle.
“They should ask themselves, what extra can I do? How can I come out of this present level of unemployment?
“You will be very surprised that there are a thousand and one opportunities you can explore to earn a living rather than waiting for a government job that may not come anytime soon.’’
The chairman said that it was better to venture into entrepreneurship since the government was finding it difficult to pay even those on its payroll.
Using blood pressure and weight checking as examples, Olatunde noted that they could offer such services for a token in their neighborhood, as people would feel comfortable approaching a known professional for those checks.
“You will not only check their blood pressure, but you can interpret it for them and by then you will begin to excel at your job.
“If you are able to prove your worth within your vicinity and environs, you can begin to give health talks, health promotion and disease prevention talks among others.’’
Olatunde reiterated that entrepreneurship was not just having a chemist or a pharmacy or patent medicine store somewhere.
He said it had gone beyond that as there were a lot of other things professionals could do to empower themselves.