International Nurses Day is commemorated around the world on each year on 12 May - the birthday of Florence Nightingale - to celebrate the contribution nurses make to society.
To commemorate this event at BU, the nursing team invited retired nurses to share their experiences with current students and held a cake sale, with proceeds being donated to the Poole Africa Link charity.
Students and retired nurses spoke about their experiences and discussed what being a nurse is like now, compared to in the past.
Pat Tuffrey, from the Retired Nurses National Home said: “Attitudes to nursing are much more relaxed now.
“When I was nursing Senior Nurses were not very approachable and used to be quite scary.”
Bournemouth University students, Imogen Pack and Beth Slade, added: “Nursing is very different now; it’s much more academic and was a lot stricter back then.”
The cake sale raised funds for the Poole Africa Link charity which has established a link between Poole NHS Foundation Trust and Wau Teaching Hospital in South Sudan.
South Sudan is one of the poorest countries in the world and hospital conditions are generally poor. For example, a woman has a higher chance of dying in childbirth than attending high school.
The Link aims to improve these conditions and help develop the skills of Wau’s healthcare professionals.
Fundraising activities have allowed the Link to sponsor senior clinicians from Wau to visit Poole hospital, to learn about UK hospital management, and to purchase vital equipment. Healthcare professionals from Poole hospital also contribute their own time to go to Wau.
The work and training provided by the Link has made significant improvements to the standard of hygiene, infection control, sharps and ward management.
