Unitec student nurses at a health check event
Today is International Nurses Day, and Unitec-Te Pūkenga can be rightly proud of the achievements of all its nursing graduates. As students, they regularly contribute to community programmes before graduating to join this essential workforce.
“International Nurses’ Day is celebrated on what was Florence Nightingale’s birthday. Many will know of her as the ‘lady with the lamp’. She was a visionary in her time as well as a great researcher and saw very keenly that nurses were invaluable to making progress and improvements in healthcare. Today, we face several global health challenges and nurses remain an invaluable part and visible link to health services. This year, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) has chosen to celebrate reflecting the theme, “Our nurses. Our future,” says Assoc Professor Samantha Heath, Director of the The Centre for Research in Education for Healthcare Professionals.
During Covid, Samantha Heath was one of the many nursing students and staff who helped with vaccination programmes.
“Pamela Cipriano ICN president says, “We need to learn from the lessons of the pandemic and translate these into actions for the future that ensure nurses are protected, respected and valued.
“Our future depends on every nurse, every voice, to not only be on the front lines of care, but also be on the front lines of change. Unitec – Te Pūkenga celebrates it’s nurses today, those that work in our health centre and teach our students. We also celebrate our student who have chosen this amazing profession, and who will lead the way as part of our future nursing workforce.”
Read more about the work of the Centre in Education in Healthcare Professionals