Public asked to 'shine a light' for Bucks nurses on Florence Nightingale's 200th birthday

International Nurses Day is an annual event first held in 1965 to celebrate the vital work that nurses do every day around the world. Since 1974 it has been held on 12 May to coincide with the birthday of Florence Nightingale who founded modern nursing and pioneered infection control.

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust (BHT) are using the symbol of 'the lady with the lamp' to ask the public to 'shine the light' on our nursing talent for Florence Nightingale's 200th birthday by placing a light in our windows at 8pm this evening.

Leanne, a heart failure nurse currently working in an intensive care units, shares her thoughts on what it means to be a nurse and what it’s like to work at BHT: “There are many reasons why I’m proud to be a nurse, far too many to mention, but the most important one to me is the difference I make to people’s lives, both patients and their loved ones.

“From empowering them with knowledge, to supporting them in their darkest hour - no day or shift is ever the same and I love that.

“I’ve worked for BHT for the past 14 years and I’ve never been more proud than I am today. Watching colleagues from a variety of different specialities and areas step up and unite over the past few weeks has been immense and I’m so grateful to be part of that.”

Nursing has changed dramatically since Florence Nightingale founded the first nursing school in London – nurses are not only on hospital wards, they are out in the community, care homes, academia, running hospitals and developing policy.

The modern nursing challenge is to deliver consistent and improving high quality care and they are essential to meet the challenge of improving care, reducing inequalities and using health and care resources wisely.

Nurses have never been more needed. We would like to invite anyone interested in joining our team at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust to follow this link to find out more.