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The Interational Year of the Nurse (RN) and the Midwife

  • Publish Date: Posted about 4 years ago
  • Author:by Leanne Howell

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, in honour of the bicentenary of the birth of the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale. The International Year of the Nurse and Midwife is a year-long effort to celebrate the work of nurses and midwives, highlight the challenging conditions they often face, and advocate for increased investments in the nursing and midwifery workforce (World Health Organisation, 2020).

Nurses and midwives touch people’s lives in so many ways. From birth up until death and often many times in between, nurses and midwives help people navigate their way through the healthcare system. They devote their lives to providing patients and families with direct hands on care and emotional support, and to deliver education and health promotion in order to improve the lives of patients, communities, and populations. And nurses and midwives work selflessly to be able to do this – from such aspects such as working 13 hour shifts and missing out on family events, to potentially risking their own health to help treat the general population (think the current Coronavirus outbreak). Nurses and midwives deserve to be celebrated and this is the year to do it!

The World Health Organisation state that there is a global need for 9 million additional nurses and midwives to achieve the United Nations goal of “Universal Health Coverage” in 2030. A career in nursing can take on many different aspects – nursing in an acute hospital care setting, mental health nursing, nursing in the military, nursing on healthcare projects in disadvantaged or war-affected countries, working in nursing education, occupational health nursing, research and development…. The list goes on!

The 12th May 2020 would have been Florence Nightingale’s 200th birthday, and in will be the International Day of the Nurse. The United States also celebrates National Nurses Day (6th May 2020) as it embarks upon the celebration of National Nurses Week which ends of the 12th May.

We recognise that our nurses are invaluable to the success and reputation of Conexus Medstaff. Therefore Conexus will be running some events and competitions to celebrate all of the hard work and dedication that our nurses provide to their patients and their families.