Happy International Nurses Day to our Wesley Nurses and nurses around the world. Thank you for your incredible contribution to professional, compassionate care of our patients and families and always know the difference you make.

The theme for 2023 “Our Nurses, Our Future” and this theme sets out to support all nurses to help address global health challenges and improve global health for all. We need to learn the lessons from the pandemic and translate these into actions for the future that ensures nurses are protected, respected and valued.

We thank all our nurses and midwives for your incredible efforts, particularly over the past few years. The nursing and midwifery workforce has once again demonstrated incredible resilience, dedication and passion for caring for others (and each other) over the most challenging of times.

You should be very proud of your leadership and the voice you bring to healthcare. Be very proud of your profession and the difference you make to the lives of those for whom you care.

We invite you to celebrate the amazing contribution nurses and midwives make to our communities, especially our Wesley community.

Thank you from all of us in the Wesley Executive and our Wesley Clinical Executive for the work you do, every day.

Today as we celebrate International Nurses Day and this year's theme is Our Nurses. Our Future.

Looking to the future of nursing we have spoken with some of our nurse graduates to find out more about our next generation of nurses.

Nathan

Nathan is currently completing the Wesley Nurse Graduate program working in the General Surgery Ward.

Originally from Mackay, Nathan says he was always interested in biology and chemistry while in high school and considered studying computer science.

"Ultimately I decided I could have a far more rewarding career in nursing, you are able to have profound moments with your patients," Nathan said.

"Nursing is highly varied, it's never boring, I enjoy the fast-paced nature of the work where you have the ability to problem solve and respond to issues quickly.

“I am interested in Emergency Nursing and Acute Care as you can see a wide range of diseases and illnesses, I also like the idea of making the patient well in a short period of time.”

Nathan says that while he has only been in the profession for a short period of time he has found it incredibly rewarding, especially his time in palliative care being thanked by a patient’s family.

"The future of nursing will need to be more receptive to social issues as well as mental health issues. We definitely need more male nurses we are currently only 12% of the workforce, I think it’s a wonderful and challenging career,” Nathan said.

Ella

Graduate Nurse Ella is currently working on the Neurology Ward of the hospital and originally didn’t want to be a nurse but an actor.

“After travelling to London, I realised that was going to be a difficult career to pursue so I started to entertain other opportunities for myself,” Ella said.

“I have naturally found myself in maternal and caring roles throughout my life so I thought I would try nursing and it has really worked out as I love it.

“Ever since week one at university I have been in love with this role, I am so passionate about helping people.”

Ella said one of the highlights for her has been connecting with patients, hearing their stories and feeling like she has made a real impact at the end of the day.

“Nursing is organised chaos, but I find I thrive in this environment, there are so many complexities to nursing but they are too often summarised with two letters RN,” Ella said.

Jess

Jess is currently working in the hospital’s theatre team across Anaesthetics and Patient Recovery and has enjoyed helping patients through incredibly difficult experiences.

“When patients come into surgery they are very vulnerable and often very nervous and I enjoy being able to help them through this and feel as though I have made a difference,” Jess said.

“Working in theatres has been a fantastic experience, you get to work with a very skilled and collaborative team who are very supportive of your nursing career.

“We are able to make decisions and see both inside the theatre and recovery following the patient journey.”

Jess explains one of the most profound experiences she had recently was a patient who had suffered from chronic back pain wake up crying because this was the first time they had ever not been in excruciating pain.

“It was so heart-warming to see and feel as though I had been a part of helping them through that process,” Jess said.

“I really enjoy being here, the team is so wonderful and supportive, this is a very inclusive and welcoming environment and I hope the future of nursing continues on that path.

“I think it’s so exciting to see new nurses start out on their careers and the passion they have for caring for their patients.”

Steph

Steph always knew she wanted to be a nurse, both her mother and grandmother were nurses and while she was at school she really loved the idea of following this career path.

Currently working in the General Surgery Ward Steph said in nursing you get to make a difference in people’s lives which is not something that can be found everywhere.

“I am not sure where I want to specialise at the moment, I am enjoying getting a taste for nursing and finding out what I like, but I do really enjoy critical care,” Steph said.

“I enjoy being able to have a conversation with a patient, find out about them and lift their spirits, seeing the smiles on people’s faces is so rewarding.

“The future of nursing will be so interesting to see, I can see more technology being used and with an aging population and people living longer we are going to need a larger cohort of nurses to care for people.”

Steph said she was excited to see advances in medicine and how we manage diseases.

“I believe the future of nursing will be exciting to watch!”