Obey Musiwa
Herald Reporter
PARIRENYATWA Group of Hospitals graduated 237 nurses this year, comprising 77 general nurses and 160 specialists, with every specialist programme reporting a 100 percent pass rate.
The graduating class represents a significant step towards the Ministry of Health and Child Care’s strategic goal of adding more than 50 000 health workers by 2030, which would effectively double the national workforce.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Dr Aspect Maunganidze, emphasised that technology could not replace nurses.
He stated that patients judged medical practitioners as much on respect and communication as on clinical skill.
“I describe nurses as central to the health system and the 237 graduates join a pipeline of 550 students currently enrolled across general and post-basic programmes. Technology can help us monitor patients and improve clinical decisions, but it will never replace the human touch,” he said.
“A patient who is unwell should not have to become unwell again because of the way we handled them.”
Parirenyatwa Group chief medical officer, Dr Tsitsi Mildred Magure, said modern equipment and infrastructure alone cannot transform healthcare, noting that the quality of human capital ultimately decides clinical outcomes.
She stated that the group intends for its School of Nursing to lead specialist nurse education and support the decentralisation of specialist services across the country.
“It is the skilled hands, knowledgeable minds, and compassionate hearts of our healthcare professionals that ultimately make the difference. The lives you serve, the suffering you alleviate, and the dignity you restore to those entrusted to your care are the true measure of success,” she told graduates.
Principal tutor Ms Rachel Longwe led the comprehensive refurbishment of student housing under the Presidential Renovation Programme, a move credited with lifting morale and the learning environment.
She reported that occupancy at Adlam House rose significantly from 119 to 222 students.
“A well-rested student is better placed to learn effectively in the classroom,” Ms Longwe said.
“Remember that you, too, may one day become a patient.”
Principal tutor Mrs Mary Musvipa noted that the Post Basic School is the premier institution in Zimbabwe training senior nurses in community nursing and nursing administration.
“It has trained 1 184 community nurses and its 2025 pass rate was 100 percent in both diplomas.
“The school’s challenge,” she said, “is infrastructure which needs replacement and expansion”.
The principal tutor of the School of Midwifery, Ms Nyaradzo Pabwaungana, highlighted that the institution has maintained a 100 percent pass rate for the past 10 years, with its students consistently winning gold, silver and bronze medals in national final examinations.
She acknowledged that the training is exceptionally demanding, involving long clinical hours and the emotional weight of caring for mothers and newborns.
“No woman should die while giving birth,” she said.
“Be the midwife our mothers, newborns and nation deserve,” she told the graduates.
