Blue skies smiling at me, nothing but blue skies do I see*

I didn’t much like last week. Like a Dickens novel, it started well with plenty of great expectations to look forward to and my mood was very buoyant. The week ended with disappointment, and my mood became decidedly flat. I was in that miserable place that comes with feeling low, and where for me, even the brilliant firework display, and live music of Friday evening couldn’t lift my mood. That ‘fed up feeling’ was still there when I woke up yesterday and despite the promised sunshine, the day didn’t hold much appeal. Two things changed all that.

The first thing was I had been given the sole responsibility of looking after Hansel and Gretel, our two pygmy goats (or J’s babies) while she went to have her hair done. This is both a great honour and of course a huge responsibility. So there was no lounging in bed for me, as they needed feeding and watering and singing to. Everything about them is delightful and it’s difficult not to smile when you are with them.

The second thing was seeing a tweet from a newly qualified nurse who was sharing her joy about being able to put on her ‘blue uniform’ now she had successfully registered with the Nursing, and Midwifery Council (NMC). She had described the three years as being both exhilarating and hard work, and that she sometimes wondered if she would ever get to the end. There was something in her happiness at achieving her ambition that lifted my heart. For the second time that morning I was smiling.

Over my hot Vimto, I thought about all those students who over the years had started and completed their nurse education at my University (and there are other universities). Over the years there must have been thousands and hopefully most are still working in healthcare and making a difference to the lives of others. And quite by chance yesterday, I also saw another tweet about the work of the NMC. Yesterday, it appears, we were 100 days away from celebrating 100 years of nurse regulation. The tweet was signalling the launch of ‘Always Caring, Always Nursing’ showcasing a century of professional pride.

There new website is well worth a visit. For those interested in history, there are lots of interesting facts – and I didn’t know that the University of Edinburgh was the first in the UK to offer a degree in nursing (1960). There is a fabulous interactive Timeline of the history of the development of nursing as a regulated profession. On the May 1949 entry, there is an extract from the original British Journal of Nursing which describes the Nurses Act and the proposed membership of the reconstituted NMC. One of the roles in the new membership structure would be for someone to represent universities in England and Wales. After a brief foray into what was called the UKCC, the present day NMC organisation was reformed in 2002. Also on the website is a wonderful account of the life and contribution to nursing of Ethel Fenwick.

Hers is a fascinating story, which you can read for yourself here. She started her nurse training in 1878 and had to pay for her own education – and for me, there is a local connection as Ethel worked for a while at Manchester Royal Infirmary, which back in 1752 had a total of just a dozen beds! Now it’s part of the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, which is the largest NHS Trust in the UK. Ethel tirelessly campaigned for the regulation of the nursing profession. Indeed, Ethel and her husband actually took over the British Journal of Nursing and used it to promote their campaign. Finally, in December 1919, the Nurses Registration Act was passed. Ethel, then 62, became the first nurse to be admitted onto the Register. She became State Registered Nurse No 1.

I don’t know how many nurses have been registered since. I do know there are currently 698,237 registrants on the NMC register, of which at least 653,544 are registered nurses. Sadly since 2018, my name no longer appears on the register, so I cannot practise as a nurse in the UK. But that doesn’t mean I no longer care. Making a difference to the lives of others is as important to me today as it was when I was still a registered nurse.

Next year is the World Health Organisation’s ‘Year of the nurse and midwife’. The reason for this recognition is to honour the 200th birthday of Florence Nightingale and to look at the world  nursing workforce. Despite the problems facing the nursing workforce in many parts of the world, I think there will also be plenty to celebrate about the profession. Interestingly, Florence and Ethel didn’t see eye to eye over the registration of nursing. Florence thought it would be damaging to the nursing profession. She argued that such a move would prevent many women, particularly those with little formal education, from undertaking nurse training. A century later, we now have many routes into the profession and of course, the new role of Nursing Associate, although with the removal of the bursary, you could say that nurses are still paying for their education and training.   

Finally, last week I got to see the new Greater Manchester Chief Nurses’ uniform. Sadly, I couldn’t get my phone out to snap a picture in time, but my, wasn’t it grand! It was a very dark navy blue with plenty of bright gold braiding on the collar, sleeves and shoulders. It looked fabulous and I can’t wait to see a picture of them all standing shoulder to shoulder as they continue to lead on the development of the nursing profession in the North West. I hope they are as proud to wear their new uniforms as that newly qualified nurse I saw tweeting yesterday.  

*thanks to Ella Fitzgerald