Celebration ‘to recognise and celebrate our local nurses in Sussex’

Student nurses marked Nurses Day (12 May) with a celebration event at the University of Chichester, where a letter from Florence Nightingale was also on display.

A lunchtime seminar was led by Professor Maggie Davies, Chief Nurse from University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, alongside Dr Nita Muir, Head of the School of Nursing and Allied Health at the University of Chichester. They each reflected on the incredible skills, dedication and impact that nurses have on people.

Dr Muir, said: “Nursing is a highly skilled and safety critical profession requiring knowledge, dedication and expertise, and today is the day to recognise and celebrate our local nurses in Sussex and our aspiring University of Chichester nursing students.”

There was also a letter from Florence Nightingale on display as part of the event, and Dr Muir added: “The letter was written in 1872 from the nursing pioneer who wrote about her poor health following her return from the Crimean War and was discovered in archives at the University.  The purpose of the letter was to champion social reform and in response to local women’s rights campaigner, Louise Hubbard who was lobbying the University to permit women to join the University.  A great example of the values that Nightingale stood for, particularly during her promotion for Nursing.”

As part of the Nurses Day celebrations, Maisie Colella, Senior Lecturer in Nursing, and three student nurses from the University of Chichester, attended the Florence Nightingale Commemoration Service which happens each year in Westminster Abbey.

The day also marks the global launch from the World Health Organisation of the ‘State of the World’s Nursing’ report.  The report will present contemporary evidence of the global nursing workforce, including education and employment.

To find out more about Nursing at the University of Chichester, visit: www.chi.ac.uk/nursing/