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International Nurses Day is once again upon us and now more than ever the amazing work nurses do every day to care for the public’s health is firmly in the global spotlight. Today is always a good day to reflect, acknowledge and appreciate all the hard work that nurses do day in day out, working tirelessly to look after those who need help the most.
The IND theme for this year is “nursing the world to health”, with a focus on the “true value of nurses to the people of the world”, which is rather prescient seeing as it was announced last year! Everyone here at MedGen would like to take this opportunity to thank our nurses for all they do. Right now, our healthcare workers are on the frontlines, battling to contain the spread of COVID-19 up and down the country. Our nurses are rising to the occasion and caring for our most vulnerable populations. Thanks to your unwavering support we're continuing to ensure that we can protect the most vulnerable people in society.
It is well known that International Nurses Day is celebrated on the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale with this being a particularly special celebration, marking what would be her 200th birthday! Florence was a true pioneer of her time and remains an inspirational role model for nurses the world over almost 200 years on. With the overwhelming response to today's global pandemic, from nurses new and old, we are sure that Florence would be proud of the industry's commitment to protecting and improving the health and wellbeing of the global population and to reducing inequalities in health and wellbeing outcomes.
Annette Kennedy of the International Council of Nurses believes 2020 is a momentous year for nursing:
“Having the Year of the Nurse and Midwife coincide with Florence Nightingale’s bicentennial raises the exciting prospect of nurses finally being recognised for all the good they do.
All around the world, nurses are working tirelessly to provide the care and attention people need, whenever and wherever they need it.
We want International Nurses Day to highlight that nurses are central to the delivery of health care, that nurses are making invaluable contribution to the health of people globally. Nurses, because of their unique role of working with people from birth to death, need to be involved in health policy.”
The recent COVID-19 pandemic has given nurses a platform from which they can demonstrate how valuable a commodity they truly are and reap the acknowledgement and appreciation that they have deserved for so long. With national coverage of Jenny McGee and Luis Pitarma, the two nurses who cared for Boris Johnson during his stay in intensive care, the hope is that the NHS' pleas will be heard and the staffing crisis will be addressed once this is all over. Until then it's important that we empower our nurses and build up some much-needed morale. The road is a long one but hopefully, with a little support, the roles of nurses will continue to advance.
From misconstrued perceptions from the past of a subservient and hierarchical profession, nursing has come on leaps and bounds to become a respected modern-day calling. Nursing is constantly pushing boundaries and advancement and the role is steeped in expertise, professionalism and compassion all of which give us reason to celebrate the true value of nurses to the people of the world.
Happy International Nurses Day everyone!