International Nurses Day - 2014

M Kumudini Devi *

'Capping and Lamp Lighting Ceremony' of State Government, School of Nursing at Lamphelpat :: Pix - Shankar Kh/Deepak Oinam

Nurses enter our life from the moment we are born to the last moment of most of our lives and they provide emotional and physical care to the sick and disabled. This profession of Nursing requires real commitment and selfless hard work and a lot of love, passion and perseverance than most other jobs do.

To mark the contributions of nurses towards people's health, the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, born on the 12th May in 1820, is commemorated every year all around the world on 12th of May as International Nurses Day (IND). In United States, Canada, Australia and other countries, International Nurses Day often is part of a weeklong celebration, usually referred as National Nurses Week.

International Council of Nurses (ICN) commemorates the IND annually all around the world. The Council would distribute an IND Kit in 2014 having educational and public information materials with the theme for the year 2014 "Nurses: A force for change – A vital resource for health". On this day nurses are encouraged to use the kit comprehensively throughout the world through their individual and group activities. While celebrating IND annually to address lots of nursing issues, promotional and educational activities are organized.

Celebration of National Nurses Week is planned to commemorate the significant role of nurses in caring patients. During the celebration activities such as educational seminars, variety of community events, debates, competitions, discussions etc. On IND nurses are appreciated and honoured by distributing gifts, flowers, organizing dinners etc. by the friends, family members, coworkers (doctors, administrators, and patients).

In India, on the occasion of the IND, National Florence Nightingale Awards are presented by the President of India to the nursing professionals for their services with devotion, sincerity, dedication and compassion. The award was instituted by the Health Ministry, Government of India and carries 50,000/- rupees cash, a citation certificate and a Medal.

In the year 1850s during the Crimean War Nightingale became an important figure in nursing. During that time she was stationed at the Barrack Hospital at Scutari (now a district of Istanbul) where she headed a group of nurses that cared for injured British soldiers. She was stuck by the desperate condition of the facilities in the hospital when she first arrived, and to correct it she imposed strict standards of care and ensured that the wards were kept clean and well stocked with food and medical supplies.

From her experience at Scutari she started to campaign for reform in health care and nursing and in the year 1860 she opened the Nightingale School of Nursing at St. Thomas' Hospital at London. It was a successful step and that prompted the establishment of similar training schools for nurses elsewhere. These pioneering schools provided a fertile foundation for the subsequent growth and advance of the modern nursing profession.

Nurses represent the largest health care profession in the world and they are the key in achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MGD). They have deep practical knowledge of delivering the best health care services and for caring the patients to maintain the health and wellness through all the aspects like physical, psychological, social and spiritual well-being. Often the nurses are the only health professionals accessible to many people in their lifetime. Nurses are often the most innovative in reaching underserved and disadvantaged populations. They see the context for wellbeing and accordingly act in way to reach beyond the immediate presenting problems.

Nursing innovations are vital in the efforts to address the current and future global health challenges such as aging populations, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, increase in non–communicable diseases etc. For achieving the best outcomes for patients, nurses should work together with other health professionals innovatively.

Nurses must be involved in the development of any programme introduced to improve health services as it is the nurses who have the practical knowledge of how health care delivery service can be designed, coordinated and effectively implemented.

Sufficient number of adequately trained and motivated health workers are essential for the health of the world's population. This number cannot be achieved without an adequate number of appropriately prepared and trained nurses. In addition to more nursing workforce, improving the work environment is a key aspect of improving the patient safety and quality of health care.