On Thursday the 12th of May, we celebrate International Nurses Day. A day to acknowledge and celebrate the commitment and bravery of all nurses, world-wide. This year, the theme is ‘Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Invest in Nursing and respect rights to secure global health.’
“The international Nurses Day case studies that we have been collecting portray the incredible work of nurses, and our IND theme for 2022 will continue to promote nursing work and fight for nurses’ rights to a safe working environment, decent wages and full participation in decision-making.” – ICN President Dr Pamela Cipriano.
International Nurses Day recognises the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale. When she was a teenager, Florence had a ‘calling’ from God to help the sick and poor. Although at the time it was not a respected profession, she was determined to become a nurse. Despite her parent’s objection, she followed her dream. By the age of 33, her name was highly significant in the nursing community. Florence worked in the Crimean War, battled sexism, contributed to the significantly decreased death rate and continually pushed to improve the conditions of hospitals. Her legacy lives on today.
In recent years, we see even more reason to celebrate this occasion, with the world-wide pandemic of COVID-19. This significant event in history has seen a nursing shortage, which is a serious threat to public health. This year’s theme focuses on the importance to protect, support and invest in nursing, to strengthen our healthcare systems.
“Nurses have suffered tremendously throughout the pandemic. They have been unnecessarily exposed to the virus, faced attacks from the public, suffered from extreme workloads, and continue to be underpaid and undervalued. If governments continue to put off investing in the health workforce, it will be the detriment of health systems everywhere. There is no health without a health workforce!” – Dr Pamela Cipriano.
Nurses always go above and beyond, even during challenging circumstances, to deliver professional and critical care to patients every single day. Thank them this International Nurses Day!
