Adverts show demanding side of nursing
Published: 17 September 2012
New Adverts show demanding side of nursing - RCN
Nursing is a demanding profession needing both clinical skills and compassion, the RCN said today (17 September), as it launched a hard-hitting advertisement campaign across the UK.
The adverts, part of an initiative called This is nursing, will appear on buses across the UK’s major towns and cities, including Cardiff and South Wales and underground stations in London. They reveal the breadth of skills in nursing and highlight the balance nursing strikes between expertise and compassion.
The advert contains an image of a nurse and a young girl alongside the text "It took skill and expertise to save Emma’s life. And compassion to make her smile again."
A new website has also been created to promote This is nursing with dedicated sections for nursing staff and for the public. The public will be able to get a unique insight into nursing, following carers in different settings throughout a typical day. A wide range of nursing care will feature, from caring for prematurely born babies to nursing people at the end of their lives.
Royal College of Nursing Chief Executive & General Secretary, Dr Peter Carter, said:
"What we are doing today is showing the reality of nursing and how it takes both professionalism and compassion to be a nurse. It’s time to celebrate the outstanding work nurses do on a daily basis, often in extremely difficult situations. We have all read the critical coverage of the nursing profession and we would never shy away from the cases of poor care when they exist. However, when poor care does exist, there are often systematic reasons behind it. This is nursing will also explore what these factors are and how they can be tackled."
The initiative looks at the challenges faced by nurses in delivering high quality care and contains seven key areas of work, including:
Staffing levels - how to improve and promote safe staffing as better staffing levels lead to improved care
Professional attitudes and behaviours – the underlying reasons behind poor care experiences
Leadership - what good leadership looks like, how this can be shared across the UK and what more can be done to inspire the nurse leaders of tomorrow
Healthcare assistants –supporting the mandatory training and statutory regulation of support workers
Paperwork and administration –how to reduce the impact of bureaucracy on care
Nurse education - Willis Commission on Nursing Education examines what the best pre-registration education looks like and perceptions around newly qualified nurses
Quality and the principles of nursing practice – embedding principles that tell everyone what they can expect from nursing care
Tina Donnelly, Director of RCN in Wales said: "Nurses are highly skilled, compassionate, dedicated and hard working. Nursing is a very demanding profession yet hugely rewarding. However, nurses face challenges on a daily basis and work under difficult circumstances with insufficient resources and pressures including minimum staffing levels. We know that nurses are central to high standards of patient care. This is Nursing is a public awareness initiative launched by the Royal College of Nursing to illustrate the complete picture of today’s nursing and we hope it will engage the public, decision-makers and politicians. Let’s acknowledge the challenges faced by the nursing profession and also celebrate the dedication of our nurses."
The RCN will now be engaging with the public and nurses through its website where further updates will feature. This is nursing can be found at www.rcn.org.uk/thisisnursing
A video about the campaign can be viewed here: This is Nursing film