Why solidarity is vital for building a healthy nursing community
International Nurses’ Day again underlined the fact that nursing staff worldwide all face similar issues. It is through collaboration, solidarity and a healthy working environment that the nursing community can overcome such issues and thrive
Nurses worldwide face similar issues, but through collaboration, solidarity and a healthy working environment the nursing community can overcome them and thrive
On 12 May, nurses across the globe were united in their celebrations of the nursing profession as part of International Nurses’ Day. This date presents an annual opportunity to recognise nursing as a highly skilled and safety-critical profession.
‘At a time of increasing geopolitical instability and shrinking funding for healthcare developments, global nursing solidarity is more vital than ever’
Nursing staff worldwide face many similar issues, with staffing shortages and compromised patient safety being the most notable. And at a time of increasing geopolitical instability and shrinking funding for healthcare developments, global nursing solidarity is more vital than ever and should not be restricted to one dedicated date.
Collaboration – and celebrations of achievements – can take place regularly in varying ways at local and national levels as well as globally.
If nurses feel supported well-being is improved, innovation increases and staff retention improves
Solidarity serves to create a sense of community. If nurses feel supported and have an environment in which they can share best practice, well-being is enhanced, innovation starts to grow and staff retention improves.
In this issue, our evidence-based articles explore how collaboration has helped to improve outcomes. Improving flexible working through electronic team rostering (ETR) in 24-hour care settings shows how new technologies, such as ETR, encourage collaboration and boost understanding among nursing team members of how rosters are created and the difficulties in ensuring fairness, while checking shifts are safely covered.
Similarly, collaboration between policy development and clinical practice is key. Our article, Designing accessible and usable clinical policies to enhance patient safety, explains how good clinical policy design requires the involvement of clinical leaders and managers, as well as service users, to support safe nursing practice.
Co-design and collaboration is not just for leaders, but for all stages of nursing, including pre-registration training. Integrating student leadership and co-design in nurse education details a co-designed project in which students developed a digital resource on diabetes mellitus.
Collaboration helps to break down barriers and deepens understanding
Regardless of band, all nurses can demonstrate leadership qualities including initiative, collaboration and problem-solving. As Integrating student leadership and co-design in nurse education explains, by fostering these skills early, nurse education can better prepare the future workforce to navigate complex healthcare environments and drive innovation in patient care.
Garnering solidarity in nursing is not just about the warm and fuzzy nice-to-have celebrations; collaboration helps to break down barriers and deepens understanding. Creating more environments in which nurses and nursing students can unite regularly to share ideas will serve to create a resilient and adaptable workforce.
