Hard hitting adverts show demanding side of nursing - RCN

Published: 17 September 2012

For immediate release: Monday 17 September 2012

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, 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

Dr Carter added:

“This is nursing aims to paints an honest, realistic picture of modern day nursing. From the start of life until the very end, nurses are always there to support and care for patients. This initiative aims to salute that work and ensure the wider public is aware of just how valuable this profession is.”

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

ENDS

Notes to Editors

A video about the campaign can be viewed here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URlKV0ewrhM

Photographs of the adverts in situ on a London bus, accompanied by nurses, are available from the press office

For further information, interviews or illustrations please contact the RCN Media Office on 0207 647 3633, press.office@rcn.org.uk or visit http://www.rcn.org.uk/news/mediacentre.php

Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK and is the largest professional union of nursing staff in the world. The RCN promotes the interest of nurses and patients on a wide range of issues and helps shape healthcare policy by working closely with the UK Government and other national and international institutions, trade unions, professional bodies and voluntary organisations.