International Nurses Day
International Nurses Day is on 12 May 2023
by Claire Law
Suitable for Whole School (Sec)
Aims
To consider how Florence Nightingale’s example inspires the values at the heart of modern-day nursing.
Preparation and materials
- You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (International Nurses Day) and the means to display them.
- Have available the YouTube video ‘Short stories: Florence Nightingale’ and the means to show it during the assembly. It is 2.23 minutes long and is available at: https://youtu.be/Frow559jWSE
Assembly
- Have Slide 1 showing as the students enter.
- Show Slide 2.
Ask the students whether any of them can identify who this person is. Do they know her name, or the nickname that she was given?
Click to reveal the answer.
This is a photograph of Florence Nightingale. She was born on 12 May 1820, and is known for her work as a nurse. She developed safer modern nursing techniques, particularly when treating injured soldiers during the Crimean War in the 1850s. Florence was nicknamed ‘The Lady with the Lamp’ because of her commitment to checking on her patients throughout the night.
Click to reveal a painting of Florence Nightingale with a lamp, walking among patients’ beds. - Nursing has come a long way since Florence’s revolutionary attitude to treating her patients. Let’s watch a short video to discover a bit more about her life.
Show the YouTube video ‘Short stories: Florence Nightingale’ (2.23 minutes long). - In memory of Florence Nightingale’s legacy, and to recognize the work of nurses today, Florence’s birthday, 12 May, has become known as International Nurses Day.
Show Slide 3.
This year, its theme is ‘Our Nurses. Our Future’. The aim is to set out how nursing should look in the future so that we can address global health challenges and improve health for all. This will involve learning from the lessons of the pandemic and translating them into actions of the future. - Many aspects of nursing have advanced since Florence Nightingale’s time. Nurses have access to a wide range of technologies and medications that weren’t available in her lifetime. However, the same commitment to patients and medical excellence that Florence Nightingale showed is still at the heart of modern nursing.
- Show Slide 4.
The NHS has adopted the six Cs of care, a set of values that are central to nursing. Nurses strive to make the six Cs a key part of their practice.
In many ways, the six Cs sum up Florence Nightingale’s approach to nursing. Let’s take a closer look at them. - Show Slide 5.
- Care. Nurses demonstrate that they care for their patients. They want to improve their patients’ health and well-being.
Florence Nightingale cared deeply for her patients and their welfare, working hard to ensure that they had good food and hygienic treatment. - Show Slide 6.
- Compassion. Nurses show kindness, empathy and respect for their patients. They conduct their duties with compassion for the people in their care.
Florence Nightingale chatted to her patients and treated them with kindness. She would sit with dying soldiers while they dictated letters to her to send home. She is also believed to have written letters to the families of soldiers who had died in her care, a clear sign of the respect that she showed her patients. - Show Slide 7.
- Courage. Nurses have the courage to do the right thing for the people they care for. That might mean speaking up when they have concerns.
Florence Nightingale took great risks so that she could bring about change. She spoke out against the unhygienic practices of the day and insisted that the nurses who worked with her washed their hands regularly. She also demanded that nurses be able to monitor their patients regularly. She positioned the nursing station in the middle of the ward so that nurses could see their patients and look for any signs of deterioration. - Show Slide 8.
- Communication. Nurses communicate clearly. That includes active listening to patients, as well as giving them clear information about their care.
Florence Nightingale emphasized the importance of building trusting relationships with patients. She encouraged her nurses to communicate with the people in their care, and speak directly with them. - Show Slide 9.
- Commitment. Nurses are committed to improving ways of working to ensure the best outcomes for patients. They strive to be the best nurses they can be.
Florence Nightingale saw her work as a mission, not just a job. - Show Slide 10.
- Competence. Nurses undertake continual training to ensure that they have the ability, knowledge and skills to perform their role safely and effectively.
Florence Nightingale gathered data on treatments and methods in nursing to learn what worked best. She was keen to use evidence to inform good practice. She then used this information to educate trainee nurses. - Earlier this year, members of the Royal College of Nursing, the world’s largest nursing trade union, voted to strike.
Show Slide 11.
Here, we see members on strike in January. They voted to take strike action because of a dispute between the government and the Royal College of Nursing about fair pay and patient safety. The issues are complex, and involve political views and finances.
The nurses who took part in the strike wanted to demonstrate their care, commitment and courage to speak out as needed.
Time for reflection
Some of us might be interested in a career in nursing, or in health and social care. There will be others whose interests don’t lie in that direction. Either way, the six Cs and Florence Nightingale’s example can get us thinking carefully about how we live our lives and interact with others.
Let’s take a moment to consider three of the six Cs and what they might mean to us. We’ll focus on care, commitment and courage.
- Care. What does care mean to you? Who are the people in your life whom you care for? Who shows care to you? For Christians, Jesus was someone who showed care to the poor and sick. Do you have in mind a role model of your own who is caring and loving?
- Commitment. What does this word mean to you? What activities or causes are you committed to? Why do these things matter to you? They might include commitment to a belief in God.
- Courage. What do you understand by this word? What does courage look like in your own life? Do you find it easy to speak out against things that go against your values?
In many religions, there is a Golden Rule: treat others as you wish to be treated. That takes a lot of courage. What does that phrase mean to you?
Let’s take a moment of silence to consider our thoughts about care, commitment and courage.
Pause to allow time for thought.
Prayer
Dear God,
Today, we have considered Florence Nightingale’s example, and modern nursing values.
We’ve also taken time to consider what some of these values mean to us.
We pray that you will help us to learn how to live lives of care, commitment and courage.
Please give us wisdom to know how to live out these values today.
Amen.
