The global pandemic has brought nursing into the spotlight as never before

This week is National Nurses Week and the 12 May also marks International Nurse’s Day, hosted each year by the International Council of Nurses to mark the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth and to celebrate the achievements of the nursing profession. The overarching theme for this year is Nurses: A Voice to Lead: A Vision for Future Healthcare and nurse innovation in the face of unprecedented global health crisis will be the focus of International Nurse’s Day 2021.

In his latest blog, David Wilmott, Group Director of Nursing at Cygnet Health Care shares his opinion on how the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of nurses across the country and the crucial changes that the global crisis brought for future nursing.

Ahead of International Nurses Day, I can’t think of a better time to reflect on the crucial role that nurses play in fighting the global pandemic we’re all living through. I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to all nurses as well as fellow clinicians, care workers and other essential key workers who have been at the forefront of the Covid-19 response. Specifically, during the pandemic, I appreciate all of you are going above and beyond caring for residents and service users in conditions that we have not experienced before.

The global pandemic posed a major challenge to the healthcare system. The biggest challenge for nursing and all health workers has been identifying new information about the infection and adopting the new knowledge into practices. We have had to continuously take on board new learning about the infection, and adapt our practices in line with the new information.

We had always prepared for a pandemic but never on the scale that was seen with COVID-19. It will change our focus forever on how we prepare and manage situations such as infection control. One of the major changes that we have seen during the pandemic is the huge amount of joint working across organisational boundaries and we have worked closely with people that we had not done previously. This will be hugely beneficial to our future working and we will strive to keep the level of collaboration across organisations.

Another real positive for the future of nursing is that the public has seen the real value that nurses bring. The profile and value of nursing have increased significantly and there is a lot to be proud of in terms of what nurses achieve day in, day out to support our residents and service users to achieve their goals and maximise their potential. In fact, applications for nursing courses within the UK universities that Cygnet works with has increased significantly.

The greatest aspect of nursing is that it has many different paths. When I left school, I became a support worker and worked my way through a number of opportunities on my career journey and gained a huge amount of experience and opportunities. Nursing is a fantastic profession.

In addition, the pandemic demonstrates one of nurses’ biggest strengths – resilience. Nursing can be very challenging but also one of the most rewarding professions.

The global pandemic has brought nursing into the spotlight as never before and has shown the public the unique contribution that nurses make in society. Nurses have shown their true ability and capability during the pandemic and this must not be lost.

With that being said, I think nurses are now better positioned to play a key part of discussions on policy and decision making as well as the design of future care systems. And I hope nurses will become even more involved in new ways of working and new projects that will further lead to innovation for nursing. They deserve it.

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