Celebrating our nurses

This week we celebrated International Nurses Day.

The celebration of International Nurses Day started in 1965 by the International Council of Nurses (ICN). This day is the birth anniversary of the famous Florence Nightingale. She was an English nurse, social reformer, and statistician. During the Crimean war, she gained fame while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses, being the pillar of modern nursing. She brought a reputation for nursing and became an icon in Victorian culture.

This day was initially proposed by Dorothy Sutherland, an official with the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, but it was not approved. Finally, after 20 years, May 12 was chosen as the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale. Since then, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) has been producing and distributing resources and evidence on International Nurses ‘Day.

During my entire career, I have worked alongside nurses. In fact, nurses have been my teachers and confidants at most phases of my career too. In my time working in emergency medicine, nurses taught me to suture (stitch a patient), guided me through my first resuscitation coordination, taught me how to insert a nasogastric tube, and many other clinical procedures.

But most importantly – nurses taught me about human compassion, selfless patient care and dedication. Within Discovery Health, we have many capable nurses in leadership and operational roles, who continue to inspire me!

We pay testament and thanks to your humanity, excellence and capabilities. Thank you to the nurses among us!

To all Discovery Health team members, I call on you to seek out the nurses in your teams today. Introduce yourself and thank them for their work and experience. Where you can, treat them to coffee and make them feel special.