“Our Nurses. Our Future. The Economic Power of Care”
For International Nurses’ Day 2024, we will be recognising and saying thank you to nurses throughout the world for all that they do.
Nursing is not a calling or a vocation, nursing is a highly skilled, safety-critical profession. Nurse are experts, nurses are leaders, and are the backbone of our healthcare systems. On International Nurses’ Day 2024, we will quite rightly be recognising the remarkable difference nurses make to so many lives every day.
The dedication, care and compassion of nurses ensures the delivery of the best possible care to all of us, from the first breath we draw as we enter the world to the moment we leave it, and during every stage in between. Nurses deserve and should receive more recognition.
With all of this in mind, I would like to send my personal thanks to all the nurses working across our organisations; from the teams delivering face to face patient care, to those of you who are committed to supporting the nursing workforce of the future, developing new programmes to support nurses in primary care and to the next generation of nurses embarking on their learning journey’s. This work is not always recognised and given the credit it should be, but I would like to commend you and thank you all for your dedication to our profession and the invaluable roles you play in providing compassionate care to patients and supporting the education of our future nursing workforce.
Sr. Linda Baugh RGN, Queens Nurse
“It is 50 years this year since I first put on my student nurses’ uniform and my career in nursing began.
I moved into general practice over 25 years ago, and where I found my real passion in GP land.
I learned to grow in confidence, had a thirst for knowledge and a passion for the diabetic patient.
I have always enjoyed sharing and passing on my knowledge to medical students, nurses, and anyone else who popped into my room to ask a question. My door was always open.
The day I learned I had gained my Queen’s Nurse award made me the proudest person on the planet that day.
Unfortunately, due to ill health I had to retire in 2023, shortly after I received an email from a friend and colleague who asked me to join Bolton GP Federation to support with their Experienced Nurse Network, since then I have been tutoring and supporting some amazing new practice nurses during their smear training, offering them guidance and mentorship. Once again, I felt lucky that I could pass on my knowledge and skills to new young nurses. Two have now passed their final assessment and a third is almost ready to complete.
This again has given me a great sense of achievement and a great feeling of pride as a nurse. My time working via ENN is a great way to continue my nursing career.”
Happy International Nurses Day to you all, and a huge thank you from all of us at Bolton GP Federation and Greater Manchester Training Hub.