Societies need the best of us right now, and we are here to serve

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that nurses have never been more important to Australia. Whether it’s supporting those infected by the virus, working with patients, aged care and disability residents to reassure our community or delivering vaccines across Australia, nurses are involved at every level of our health and aged care systems.

But nurses supporting people isn’t unusual. Whether it be at a bedside, in an aged care home, out in the community or in countless other settings, nursing is at the centre of how Australia cares for its most vulnerable people. Nursing is at the forefront of our health care system and is Australia’s biggest profession. Without nurses, our health and aged care systems would collapse.

2020 put a public face on just how important nurses are. In a prophetic moment, 2020 was declared by the World Health Organisation as the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife before the COVID-19 pandemic changed our lives. This year, the theme of “Nurses: A Voice to Lead” has not been more relevant in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are many ways the Australian Government, and Australians, can support nurses and nursing leadership. Some of these changes are legislative and regulatory, while others are things that should be considered in people’s everyday lives.

The changes that governments can make across Federal, State and Territory jurisdictions are relatively simple, but will have an enormous impact not just for the practice of nurses, but for the health outcomes for all Australians. Changes such as enabling Nurse Practitioners to work to their full scope of training, granting nurses access to Medicare items that support their practice and working with the nursing profession to ensure that the new Aged Care Act, which Health Minister Greg Hunt has committed to, will help not only create opportunities for nurses, but also improve the health outcomes for Australians who will be able to access more services.

Governments, whether Federal, State or Territory, can also commit to hearing the nursing voice. While nurses are often the most remembered part of care for patients, their voice in supporting the best possible delivery of this care is often unheard. Nursing voices should be key for all decision makers, as they are the ones ultimately delivering the care for patients and aged care residents.

But these direct changes are not the only things that governments can change. Recent events in Canberra have shined a light on how women may still be vulnerable in the workplace to bullying and harassment, sexual assault and sexual harassment. With the nursing profession made up by a vast majority of women, changes to support the respect of women in the workplace will have a real impact on how nurses are treated and supported around Australia.

There is a real opportunity for governments to enact policies and be a cultural leader on stamping out abuse in workplaces, but especially the kind of sexual abuse and harassment we have seen in Canberra recently and know nurses experience from patients across Australia.

For nursing, this needs to be about more than cultural changes within workplaces. We still see too many stories of nurses as the victims of assaults and with serious injuries on our news bulletins, and these are only the ones we hear about. Governments and health care organisations need to implement solutions to protect nurses and other health care workers from violence. But it’s important for these not to be just top-down solutions, but solutions that are developed by nurses who are at risk every single day through their peak professional organisations .

Nursing has long progressed from the image of Florence Nightingale. You may see today’s nurses in scrubs, in corporate attire, in prescribed work uniforms or plain clothing. Australia’s nurses are highly qualified and highly educated; many continue their commitment to lifelong learning following their undergraduate diploma or degree, and will undertake one or multiple postgraduate certificates, including a Masters’ degree or PhD.

On this International Nurses Day, I encourage both nurses and the community to rethink how they see the nursing profession. Nursing isn’t a job, it’s a profession, and nurses are highly qualified, specialised and want to support Australians when they are often at their most vulnerable.

To Australia’s nurses: You have chosen a career that has been revered, trusted and respected throughout history. Your courage and conviction through challenging times has kept this country safe and prevented people from dying. You face adversity and extreme pressure with resilience and dignity. You make a difference. Stay strong, be proud, be vulnerable and most importantly take care of your fellow workers as much as you take care of your patients and residents. Societies need the best of us right now, and we are here to serve.

Nurses have had Australia’s back through the pandemic, as always. On International Nurses Day we say thank you.

#IND #InternationalNursesDay