A voice to lead: International Nurses Day 2022

Every year, on 12 Could, I consider excellent pleasure in celebrating and showing my appreciation for nursing colleagues working throughout the health and treatment procedure on Global Nurses Day.  This date marks the start date of Florence Nightingale in 1820.

Quite a few of us right away feel of Nightingale holding a lamp.  In your mind’s eye, if you know a minimal a lot more about her background, you may put her in Crimea, serving to the wounded British soldiers. Several men and women – or fewer than she warrants – know to credit score her for the immensely important public health leadership function which she performed.  She recognised that also quite a few men and women were being dying from poor sanitation and the deficiency of productive infection avoidance handle interventions.

It was not until eventually I commenced functioning in public health that I entirely appreciated how Nightingale experienced employed stats to attain significant health reform. Obtaining gathered medical center mortality information for 2 yrs, even though out in Crimea, Nightingale made use of a then groundbreaking way to present her conclusions. Using her rose diagrams, she was equipped to illustrate that most men and women were dying from very poor sanitation and infection, which was deemed mainly preventable.

I also think about the bravery and management of Mary Jane Seacole, a nurse whose operate and affect ended up missing in time since of her colour.  Seacole, born 23 November 1805, confirmed huge bravery in environment up the British Lodge and in checking out the entrance line to present treatment to injured troopers during the Crimean war.

Her story has at last arrive to light and she rightly justifies to be remembered for her bravery, tenacity and inclusivity.  This is some thing which has in no way been additional essential to our nursing career, as we recognise the big inequalities which exist across our communities.

Celebrating nursing heritage

So, in 2022, we should celebrate the two Seacole and Nightingale, who shown that our nursing profession could be a voice to lead. They have been courageous leaders, statisticians and public health pioneers who challenged the earth to do points otherwise to save and boost lives.

Our entry to data has unquestionably improved given that the 1800s and so has our comprehension of the important leads to of untimely morbidity and mortality. We have also sophisticated our awareness of the evidenced primarily based interventions which can be applied to lower preventable death and sick health throughout the life system, from preconception to older age. However, there is nevertheless a tendency for our occupation to concentrate on the management and treatment of condition and ill health, relatively than us putting an equal concentrate on blocking, safeguarding and advertising and marketing the public’s health.

As the earth commences to get well from the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be crucial for the nursing job to contemplate the classes learnt and what desires to change to allow us to definitely create back again superior and fairer.

The pandemic has presented us all with an chance to see with increased clarity that all nurses participate in an important public health part, irrespective of their speciality or setting. It is now necessary that we make on this understanding and contemplate the strategies in which we can get a increased position in protecting against sickness, guarding health and endorsing wellbeing. The nursing job will also enjoy an important function in addressing the widening health inequalities which has been produced at any time clearer by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This Intercontinental Nurses Day I will rejoice nursing colleagues from the past – a heritage we can be happy of.  I will also consider pleasure in thanking all the colleagues in the existing and future who are developing on our robust track report as a career and who are, collectively, a voice to guide.

Nursing is an astounding occupation and I am proud to be element of the most dependable job.  We nurses will participate in an important function in driving a decade of transformation and transform in the 2020s, which will end result in more men and women dwelling lengthier and much healthier lives, regardless of the place you are living and how your daily life started. Centre to this achievement is for all nurses to see by themselves as public health industry experts who, like Mary and Florence, can act with bravery and candour to increase health outcomes for everybody.

Pleased International Nurses Working day!