Message of support for nurses, midwives
THE World Medical Association (WMA) issued a New Year message of support for nurses and midwives to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale.
Nightingale, an English social reformer and statistician, and the founder of modern nursing, was born on May 12, 1820, and died on August13, 1910. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, where she organised care for wounded soldiers.
Her social reforms included improving healthcare for all sections of British society, advocating for better hunger relief in India, helping to abolish prostitution laws that were harsh for women, and expanding the acceptable forms of female participation in the workforce.
The WMA’s message follows the World Health Organisation’s decision to designate 2020 as the “Year of the Nurse and Midwife”.
The WMA, representing thousands of physicians across the world, issued a message of thanks to nurses and midwives for their co-operation and teamwork at all times, in all countries and in all conditions.
WMA president Dr Miguel Jorge said: “We are proud to work in multidisciplinary teams providing the best health-care necessary. Our nursing
“Nurses are often the only professionals to see a patient Miguel Jorge WMA president
colleagues are strong partners in helping patients and communities, and together we make a difference.
“Nurses and midwifes are often the first health professionals to see a patient, and sometimes the only ones.”
WMA chairperson Dr Frank Ulrich Montgomery added: “For healing patients and the best care, for palliation and rehabilitation, for community care and prevention, nurses and midwifes are an essential element in the chain to deliver health-care.”
“We hope that declaring 2020 as the ‘Year of the Nurse and Midwife’ is more than just tokenism and lip-service.”
There was a severe lack of nurses in many countries, and nurses were desperately needed, Montgomery said.
“We hope and expect governments to take the necessary steps to improve the working and living conditions of nurses and midwives, so that they can provide the services for which they have been trained,” he said.