12 May 2021
Jersey is celebrating International Nurses Day 2021 today by showing appreciation and gratitude to the newly qualified nurses who started their careers during the pandemic.
Health and Community Services has 11 newly qualified nurses, with more expected to follow throughout the year.
Jersey's Chief Nurse, Rose Naylor, said: "It hasn't been easy for our new nurses. They joined in the middle of a pandemic, but they've embraced it with incredible enthusiasm. I'm proud of all our nurses – from the newly qualified to the most experienced – who have demonstrated professionalism, compassion and caring in some of the most challenging times they've probably ever had, or ever will have, in their careers. Today, we celebrate our nurses for the wonderful job they do."
With the International Council Of Nurses setting a theme of Nurses: A Voice to Lead - A vision for future healthcare, Rose added: "Our student nurses are the future of healthcare and we are incredibly fortunate to be able to provide prospective nurses with an on-island full-time nursing degree and a variety of placements, as well as employ those who have studied and worked in the UK."
Lily Dodd, a newly qualified nurse, said: "It feels really good to be able to say that I'm a fully qualified nurse and I'm really proud of myself for getting to this stage, particularly with everything we've been through this past year."
"My placements included working on a medical ward, in theatres, and on a dialysis unit. I also did district nursing before working with neuro specialist nurses and my last placement was in surgical emergency. So, it was a good variety."
"Every time I go home, I always feel like I've done some good or helped someone, so it's a really rewarding job and I just love working with people and helping them. I wouldn't change it for anything."
Jersey's newly qualified nurses are deployed across Health and Community Services and prior to the completion of their training they meet with the practice development sister and give a preference as to their specialty.
Jessie Marshall, Associate Chief Nurse with responsibility for newly qualified nurses, said: "This is so they can consolidate their learning and transition into a staff nurse. I then meet and allocate them their ward or department, which is dependent on vacancies and preferences. They have support from a ward base mentor and practice development sister to support their transition from student to staff nurse – initially working with support to achieve objectives and moving on to independent working."
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