Every 12th May we celebrate International Nurses Day across the globe, in honour of the birth of Florence Nightingale.

The 12th May and Florence Nightingale are both significant to the nursing world – Florence is widely known to be founder of modern nursing. Every year, the International Council of Nurses sets a theme for the year’s celebrations and the theme for 2023 has never been more fitting – ‘Our Nurses. Our Future.’. The theme is driven by the challenging last few years and the impact the global pandemic has had on the wider healthcare system and the nursing community.

The theme is designed to encourage us to reflect on learnings from the pandemic, the impact this has had on healthcare workers, patients and the community, and how we can take these learnings to improve global health for everyone. It is critical that these lessons and learnings ensure nurses are protected, respected and valued.

We have a large nursing community at Ormiston Hospital who ensure our patients get the best care possible, every day. We spoke to one of our superstar nurses this International Nurses Day to get her views on this year’s theme, and what advice she would give to future nurses.

 

Meet Kerry Quarterman!

Kerry has been a nurse for 20 years (and when asked how long she has been nursing for, she responded with ‘where has that time gone?!’).

Kerry, what is one thing that you really enjoy about your job?

I enjoy talking and bringing my sense of humour to work – this is very much for both my patients and the team I work with.

 

What is one thing that you personally learnt from the pandemic, and has that changed the way you carry out your role now?

I had to learn how to communicate with my family from a distance using video calls. Having spent a few years overseas, this was not a huge adjustment for me. Most of our family members had some sort of online video calling system already set-up, so that really helped.

In relation to work, it was very much thinking about how hard it was for patients to come into the hospital without their support systems – their families at their sides. I had to adjust how I was able to include the patients’ families in the care of the patient. I also changed my practice by talking with them using online chats to discuss what will be required of them on discharge. This really reassured the family that their loved ones were OK and helped them focus on what they can do when the patient has been discharged home.

 

What is one piece of advice you would give to a future nurse?

Stop, pause and breathe. Ask questions. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself! It takes time for the cogs to click into place – but you will get there.

 

 

Speaking of the future, here at Ormiston we recognise and value the contribution that our nursing teams make across all areas of the hospital. We have made a commitment to investing in our nursing workforce by increasing the numbers of new graduate nurses we offer positions to. This is a small way we can contribute to ensuring the global nursing workforce is sustained.

We took a short breather today to recognise our amazing nursing team at Ormiston Hospital with cupcakes and a cuppa.

Happy International Nurses Day!

 

If you are looking for more information on life at Ormiston Hospital, visit our website here.