Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday urged newly recruited nursing officers to create their own identities following the ideology of Florence Nightingale.

Patnaik said this while distributing appointment letters to the newly recruited 3,732 nursing officers.

"The persons in the nursing service need to have the dedicated attitude to serve the distressed people as done by the Florence Nightingale," Patnaik said.

Addressing the gathering at a Kalinga Stadium here where the newly recruited nursing officers were given appointment letters, the chief minister said that the motto of the state's health service is "every life is precious".

While lauding the role of nursing personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic, Patnaik said they have greater responsibility in counselling the patients in distress.

-With PTI Input