Chandigarh: Serving patients round the clock, standing firm on the front lines during the gruelling Covid-19 pandemic, and carrying healthcare awareness beyond hospital walls—Poonam Verma’s 25-year journey of dedication has now earned her the nation’s highest nursing honour. On International Nurses Day (May 12), she will be conferred with the prestigious Florence Nightingale Award at Rashtrapati Bhavan.A nursing officer, who also works as a tutor at the nursing college of GMCH-32, Poonam has been serving the institution since 2001, viewing nursing not merely as a profession but as a lifelong service. Her selection for the national honour recognises her contributions to professional excellence, patient care and community outreach.Alongside demanding hospital duties, she consistently upgraded her qualifications, progressing from GNM to BSc, MSc, and completing several specialised diploma courses. She has also played a key role in multiple research projects and actively participated in outreach programmes, particularly breast cancer screening and awareness drives for women.During the Covid-19 pandemic, Poonam worked as a dedicated frontline warrior and contributed significantly to the Labour Room team under the LaQshya certification programme and the ICU standard operating procedures team. As a Basic Life Support (BLS) instructor, she has trained numerous healthcare professionals, strengthening emergency response capacity.Healthcare, in many ways, runs in the family. Her husband, Suleman, is a senior nursing officer at PGI, Chandigarh. The couple has two sons—one pursuing law, and the other having recently completed Class XII.“A patient’s smile and their safe return home after recovery has always been my greatest reward,” Poonam said. Reflecting on the pressures of public healthcare, she added, “Even when hospitals overflow with patients, patience and compassion matter. Many heal not just with medicines, but with reassuring words and care.”
