COL VIDA OTOO (RTD) MILITARY NIGHTINGALE AWARD

Short Biography

Col. Vida Otoo (Rtd.)

Col. Vida Otoo (Rtd.) is a nurse, midwife, and public health nurse trained at Korle-Bu NMTC and the Korle-Bu Public Health Nursing Training School. She obtained her first degree and Master’s degree from the Ghana Military Academy and the Ghana Armed Forces Staff College. She also completed specialty training in burns nursing in Houston, Texas, USA.

She served at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital from 1979 to 1982 and was commissioned in 1983 as a Lieutenant in the Ghana Armed Forces. She rose through the ranks to Colonel and later became the Director of Nursing and Midwifery Services at the 37 Military Hospital. She subsequently retired as the Director of Nursing and Midwifery Services at the General Headquarters of the Ghana Armed Forces Medical Services.

During her tenure, she served on various committees and contributed significantly to the introduction of the Single Spine Salary Structure. She championed a policy enabling civilian nurses and midwives to be promoted to the rank of Deputy Director of Nursing. She introduced the Military Nightingale Week celebrations to rekindle the Florence Nightingale spirit among military nurses and midwives, with awards presented to deserving personnel.

Col. Otoo was the first female Overall Best Cadet at her commissioning in 1983. She received the Professional and Academic Luminary Award by GRNMA in 2015, the Military Nightingale Award in 2017, and was the first recipient of the Outstanding Female Military Personality Award in 2019.