Letter from the Chair: Ruth Davies

This has been a busy and exciting year for all us, owing to the many events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the death of our most famous nurse, Florence Nightingale (1820–1910).

Celebrations began with the annual Florence Nightingale service held at Westminster Abbey on 12 May, led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu who referred to her “outstanding accomplishments in the evolution of the nursing profession”.

These accomplishments, and her continuing influence on the nursing profession across the world, were certainly evident at the International perspectives in the history of nursing conference on 14–16 September at Royal Holloway, University of London (see page four).

Mark Bostridge, author of Florence Nightingale: the woman and her legend, set the scene for an excellent conference which was truly international with speakers from Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Austria and Denmark. Attending this event certainly made me aware of the real commitment worldwide to valuing and preserving our history.

The accomplishments continue

This has been a memorable year for the RCN History of Nursing Society and we offer our warmest congratulations to Dr Christine Hallett, a loyal and hardworking member of the Society, on her appointment as the first Professor of Nursing History in the UK. Congratulations also to Rosemary Cook and Tommy Dickinson who each have been awarded a Monica Baly Bursary. You can read about Christine’s work and appointment on page one, along with personal accounts starting on page two from Rosemary and Tommy about how the bursaries will help support their research.

In my new role as Chair of the RCN History of Nursing Society and Editor of RCN History of Nursing Society Newsletter, I would like every edition of our newsletter to represent the values and views of all our members. That’s why I will end by asking you to send us your insights and opinions, as well as information about any research or scholarly activity you are undertaking, locally or nationally, so we can share this with our wider membership. Our next newsletter will be published in May 2011 so do send me details by 25 April – I look forward to hearing from you!

Ruth Davies is Senior Lecturer in Child Health at Swansea University. Email: r.e.davies@swansea.ac.uk