Shepparton nursing students and staff at La Trobe University celebrated International Nurses Day on Wednesday, May 11.
The day, annually recognised on May 12, commemorates the birth of Florence Nightingale in 1820 — the founder of modern nursing.
The university held a breakfast for its nursing students, and staff shared their experiences and told how the profession had changed and progressed.
“These [nursing students] stand on the shoulders of giants,” lecturer Jenny Bassett said.
“I wanted to get across to them what a great profession this is.”
Ms Bassett is a theatre nurse and has been in the profession for 30 years; she was one of the last hospital-trained nurses.
“As nurses have transitioned into tertiary education, we haven’t lost our care and our craft of nursing,” she said.
“We’re in Mildura, Shepparton, Albury-Wodonga and Bendigo, so La Trobe trains most of the nurses in this region; train them locally, they’ll stay locally.
“They are so excited to be nurses and can’t wait to get out there.”
Student Audrey Sproules wore her aunt’s first nursing uniform from when she started training at the Geelong hospital in 1971.
“I wanted to become a nurse because I’ve had experience in hospitals with my family members and I wanted to make an impact – I just love helping people,” she said.
“I come from a big family of nurses so I guess being around that environment has impacted me wanting to be a nurse.”
While to start she said she would work locally, she hoped to eventually work and travel overseas.
The theme for this year’s International Nurses Day was ‘Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Invest in nursing and respect rights to secure global health’.
The focus for the day was on the need to protect, support and invest in the nursing profession to strengthen health systems globally.