President of India, Ram Nath Kovind presented the national Florence Nightingale award (FNA) for nurses to Khrielakhonuo Angami on December 5 in New Delhi.
Speaking to this correspondent, Khrielakhonuo said that she had never heard of the award before but with the support from her seniors and colleagues at Naga Hospital, she applied for and was surprised when she got the message that she was selected. Khrielakhonuo has been a nurse for 28 years and is currently serving as a staff nurse at Naga Hospital Authority Kohima (NHAK). She talked about her journey on how she became a nurse 28 years ago, when she was just 20 years old. She was posted at Tuensang where she met with an accident and had been scarred with permanent injury of her nerves and spinal cord called spondylosis.
Inspite of her injury, she never gave up but continued to pursue her dreams of helping and making people happy. Khrielakhonuo also advised all upcoming nurses to follow their dream and never give up.
Do not be scared to face the challenges ahead of working outpost in district hospitals, she advised and encouraged them to go and share the God given talent and blessing.
She said that because of her injury, she had problems with her movements and was insecure of public appearance as she was hesitant at how people would judge her but that never stopped her from following her dreams. She also expressed the joy of saving a patient and sometimes having to face criticisms as it was difficult to make everyone happy.
It has also been informed that she is the third person from Nagaland to have been conferred the award, a recognition by the union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare under the aegis of Indian Nursing Council, since its inception in 1973. The first awardee Vitsozhule Sophie was awarded in 1983 and Themkhoneng was awarded in 2013.
The Florence Nightingale medal was instituted in 1912 by the International Committee of the Red Cross and is the highest international distinction a nurse can achieve.