In May this year, the World Health Organization declared 2020 as the year of the nurse and the midwife. This is an amazing opportunity to showcase the wonderful work that nurses do both nationally and internationally and ensure the public recognise what a great contribution we make to nursing care.
That’s not all for on 28th June, a new global initiative was launched; the Nightingale Challenge, which seeks to encourage global employers to provide development opportunities to a group of young nurses and midwives during 2020. Why not ask what your organisation is doing to support this?
As a new decade dawns it offers great opportunities for all UK nurses to put the nursing profession firmly back on the map. For too long nurses have been taken for granted; they have continued to achieve much but increasing demands are leaving nurses exhausted, and for many with an increasing loss of hope. We don’t want nurses to leave the profession; we need them to stay. As nurses we need to feel confident that despite the challenges, we can continue to deliver safe and effective care, and feel that they we can make a difference.
We hear of the wonderful work that nurses do through social media and this is one way in which nurses can have their voice heard, but it takes more than simply clicking a button to make a real and sustained difference.
So, I would like to throw down the gauntlet and present a challenge. As nurses and midwives through our networks, our collaborative actions and our teams we can help develop initiatives to promote 2020 as the year of the nurse and the midwife and we can start right now. Writing blogs can be a great way to inform nurses of the great work we do and can be achieved quickly and safely and if you are new to this, why not link up with someone who has experience. There is confidence in numbers.
2020 is the year of the nurse and the midwife, we must respond positively to this momentous decision to ensure our stand is strong and our passionate voices are heard, loud and clear.