‘’Why I Still Love Nursing" was the theme of an event held at the University of Winchester to mark International Nurses Day.
Nurses, both vastly experienced and still in training, explained why the profession is so important to them to an audience of students and academics.
Julie Dawes, Chief Nurse at Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust (HHFT), said: “In nursing you are such a big part of the community where you work.
“You see people’s first days, good days, bad days and last days.”
She said the best thing about being a nurse was her colleagues. “I am inspired every day by the people I work with who regularly go above and beyond.”
She added: “As a nurse you have the biggest impact on patients’ outcomes and experience – that’s a privilege and it is to be respected.”
Sue Hill, who received an Honorary Fellowship from the University in November, gave a whistlestop tour of her long and varied career which has seen her fill 24 different roles, working at local, regional and national level. Currently she works for the Foundation of Nursing Studies as a Project Manager and facilitator on the Resilience Based Clinical Supervision programme.
Sue comes from a family of nurses and was determined to follow them, even writing to a Matron at Great Ormond Street asking for a job at the age of 13!
She recalled a time when hospitals had empty beds and there was a shortage of job vacancies when she qualified.
Sue advised those starting out in the profession to: “…take lots of photos and write about what you’ve done otherwise you won’t remember all those special moments.”
University of Winchester graduate Cyzel Gomes, who qualified in 2022, spoke about working on a gynaecological ward and said any doubts she had about joining the profession were dispelled “…when a family walks out of the ward still smiling.”
Third year students Grace Barnard, Ethan Sealey, Hannah Bryan and Hazel Marshall, all about to embark on their final work placements, also shared their nursing stories.
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Grace Barnard
Grace said: “I was looking for a profession where I could help others, be challenged in the workplace and work as part of a team. I can officially say that I’ve found a profession that feels just like me, and I love my work.”
Ethan Sealey
Ethan said he’s been inspired to become a nurse by “…the sheer shock and wonder after a sitting in a GP Duty Nurse room for an hour at the age of 14 and feeling bowled over by how knowledgeable, kind, down-to-earth and practical she was.”
He added: “I aspire to one day be the nurse that wows a 14-year-old to the point of wanting to join the profession.”
Hannah Bryan
Hannah described her journey into nursing after a knee injury in sixth form put paid to her hopes of career in sport. After working at a special needs school during the pandemic, she realised she wanted to care for children and decided to become a paediatric nurse.
Hazel Marshall
Hazel said she wanted to be a clinical nurse specialist (CNS) working in cancer care. “I’ve seen the impact nurses have when patients go through difficult times and they inspire me to be the best nurse I can be.”
The celebration day is held each year on 12 May, the birthday of Florence Nightingale. As this fell on a Sunday this year, Winchester’s event was held two days later at the West Downs Auditorium.
To open proceedings the Chancellor of the University Professor Sarah Greer quoted the ‘Lady with the Lamp’ - Florence Nightingale, whose family home was near Romsey. Florence Nightingale said: “Let us never consider ourselves finished nurses. We must be learning all of our lives.”
In thanking everybody for coming together to celebrate International Nurses Day, Professor Greer said Florence Nightingale’s approach to nurse education reflected the University’s own commitment to a love of lifelong learning.
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