From counsellors to advocates to caregivers on the front line, nurses are at the heart of the work across our healthcare system. This has never been more evident than in the current COVID-19 pandemic.
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Even in a time of crisis, nurses around the world continue to make a difference in the lives of people at their most vulnerable.
COVID-19 has reiterated just how susceptible our societies are to an unprecedented pandemic, but more positively, the resilience of our nurses who continue to care for those in need, despite the personal risk to themselves.
In Australia, we have been fortunate to-date for no nurse to have lost their life, however overseas this has not been the case. Despite this, nurses continue to show up for work delivering care underpinned by empathy, compassion, expertise and trust.
Nurses have a strong desire to ensure that, from birth to death, people and their families are well supported. It is these qualities which make our profession truly unique and for which we are recognised.
We celebrate International Nurses' Day on the 12th May each year in acknowledgement of Florence Nightingale's birthday, the founder of modern nursing. It is now 200 years since Flo was born and nurses have continued to embody the many qualities with which she has been previously described. Importantly, Flo was most concerned for people and the care they required, regardless of who they were; what their position was or where they had come from.
Engaging with such diversity is a hallmark of how nurses see and commit to each person as an individual and remains at the core of all we do to ensure equitable care.
It is timely therefore that as we celebrate her 200th birthday we are in the mix of the COVID-19 crisis and nurses once again are trailblazing. I'm proud to acknowledge the staff from across the University's School of Nursing and Midwifery who have been engaged in a number of activities across the region during the COVID-19 crisis.
From caring for mothers and babies; engaging in public health units to assist with monitoring; working with government on the National Infection Control Advisory Committee; undertaking research focussed on the COVID response; providing leadership on the COVID National Taskforce Leadership Group; working with health services at an operational planning level; developing resources to support the wellbeing of the healthcare workforce; redesigning educational programs to support students' continued involvement in their studies with minimal disruption; using simulation to support the upskilling of staff and authoring journal publications to share best practice internationally, these key examples are illustrative of the myriad areas our nurses are making a difference during this crisis - from practice, to policy, to research and education.
The World Health Organisation designated 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife to highlight the profession's global workforce shortfall. To achieve universal health by 2030, 9 million nurses are needed to be educated worldwide. This global shortage is present nationally and in our region. Coupled with the current crisis, considering nursing as a career pathway has become highly opportune.
The crisis shows the need for graduates who are caring, adaptable, innovative, able to use digital technology and capable of providing leadership at all levels of practice, not just at the top. We need to be equipping the next generation of nurses with the tools to lead our response to any future pandemics, and to use the learnings of the current crisis in ways that seek to inform our teaching, practice and research.
Our goal is to nurture graduates who display a strong level of commitment to the discipline; demonstrate a high level of care which is empathetic and impacts positively on the wellbeing of people and are highly competent in the delivery of their care.
Underpinning this goal is the School's commitment to create an environment that fosters students to pursue learning and knowledge-sharing post-graduation.
Generating a sustainable workforce who live, study and work within the region is highly desirable. This benefits the region, with a workforce able to recognise the needs of its people, who are responsive in ways that places them at the centre of our practice.
I want to see students fulfil their potential as leaders at all levels of practice, who in turn, motivate and inspire the next generation of nurses. I hope others will use today as an opportunity to reflect upon the efforts of those caring for our community and encourage our future nurses to embody the qualities so fondly remembered in Flo.
Professor Amanda Johnson is Head of the University of Newcastle's School of Nursing and Midwifery
To achieve universal health by 2030, 9 million nurses are needed to be educated worldwide.
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