University backs campaign to boost nursing globally
An international challenge to empower the next generation of nurses and midwives has been launched, with Edinburgh providing vital support.
The Nightingale Challenge – which has been unveiled at a ceremony in Singapore – asks every health employer around the world to provide leadership and development training for a group of their young nurses and midwives.
The aim is to have at least 1,000 employers accepting the Nightingale Challenge, benefiting more than 20,000 nurses and midwives aged 35 and under during 2020, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) has designated as the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.
Edinburgh support
Head of Nursing Studies Professor Aisha Holloway is leading work to evaluate the initiative’s success.
The Nightingale Challenge is part of Nursing Now, a campaign to improve health globally by raising the status and profile of nursing.
Professor Holloway has been appointed by Nursing Now as its Programme Lead: Evidence for Effective Practice. In her role she will evaluate the wider campaign, lead a programme of research and report on the state of nursing around the world.
It is a privilege to be part of this once in a generation opportunity, to lift up our professions, to promote and raise the profile and impact that nurses and midwives have in their contribution to Universal Health Coverage and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Ensuring that nurses are leading global policy and informing evidence-based decision making, is fundamental to investment in our most priceless assets - the nurse and the midwife. I am honoured to be part of Nursing Now and that Nursing Studies at The University of Edinburgh is part of this historic campaign and its legacy.
Nursing Now
Nursing Now is a programme of the Burdett Trust for Nursing run in collaboration with the International Council of Nursing and the WHO.
As of June 2019, it comprises of a network of 258 groups in 88 countries working to influence global and local policy.
Organisers say the campaign will boost healthcare by helping nurses access better education and training while supporting them to share research and evidence of effective practice. It is working to influence policymakers and support nurses to lead, learn and build a global movement.