Training quality nurses

       For some time, the southern border provinces have experienced the effects of violence and unrest. The events, which have caused untold loss and destruction to infrastructure and people, to many innocent people and this has been exacerbated by the fact that now there are fewer trained doctors and nurses returning to work in the troubled area to help the people affected by such events.
       Presently, the entire country has a shortfall of around 30,000 nurses, with the universities of the Ministry of Public Health only able to produce 2,500 nurses per year. In the southern border provinces, there are currently around 3,000 trained nurses - around 600 per provinced. It is estimated that around 6,000 nurses are needed to meet the needs of the people in the south, meaning that another 3,000 are desperately needed.
       It must also be realized that due to the unrest, doctors and nurses in the south have a greatly increased workload. Faced with such frightening and unsafe conditions, many of these medical professional have resettled in other parts of the country.
       In light of this, the "Project to Produce Professional Nurses to Solve the Problems of the Southern Border Princes" has been initiated. The projects is the product of cooperation between associated state departments, including the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Education, the Southern Border Province Administration Centre, the Office of the Civil Service Commission, the Budget Bureau, the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC), the National Intelligence Agency, the governors of the respective southern provinces, and the Thailand Nursing and Midwidfery Council.
       The project is a focused effort to restore the numbers of trained nurses and medical professionals back to sufficient levels. The brainchild of ISOC, the project is now truly underway, wich each department involved in the initiative aware of and ready to carry out their responsibilities under the project.
       Since the beginnings of the unrest in the south, ISOC has carried out its duties in the area and has witnessed first-hand the effects the shortage of nurses has had on the local community. ISOC says that the shortage gas added to the instability of the situation, with locals feeling as if they have been abandoned by the government as there have simply not been enough medical staff to treat the injured. It is vital for this situation to be remedied. The professional nurse training program will help to do this, restoring confidence in the authorities and quality of life to the local community.
       The "Project to Produce Professional Nurses to Fix the Problems in the Southern Border Provinces," has the objective to relieve the problems of unrest in the southern border area and to guarantee stable healthcare, 24 hours a day, for the local people of Pattani, Narathiwat, Yala, Satul and Songkla. The project had been given an initial budget of 1,269 million baht for four years - about 70,000 baht per student, per year, with involved universities already able to accept new students.
       Other than helping with the shortage of professional nurses, the project will creat excellent educational opportunities for the youth of the south and help to solve the problems of violence and unrest in the area. Education is the key, as it will allow students to not only develop professional skills, but analytical thinking, which can be applied to all areas of life. Around 3,000 local students will be selected from Yala, Pattani, Satul, and the four districts of Songkla (Sabayoi, Jana, Natawi), who will be given a chance to study in the program. Stidents will be overseen by a professional management committee who will take care of the student's needs before, during, and after graduating from the program. The program will be open to both Buddhist and Muslim students.
       Educational institutes will publicize the offer to participate in the programme through various universities, with places for around 100 students per institution. The program will give students and excellent chance to gain life experiences and further broaden their cultural horizons.
       Presently, the nursing students of the southern border provinces already involved in the programme are committed to studying to their full potential in educational year 2009 and are focused on completing their studies so they may return to their native provinces and help. Rest assured that ISOC, the driving force behind the project, will continuously push for a sustained drive to produce professionals to help the people of the south.