At the end of a tough year that saw International Nurses Day pass uncelebrated, Canterbury nurses finally came together to celebrate nursing.
Mary Gordon, executive director of nursing welcomed the 150 or so nurses gathered and said it was really important for nursing in the region to take some time out before the year ended to celebrate a “job well done”.
She personally congratulated nurses for coping with the challenges that the quakes, aftershocks and snow had brought and thanked nurses from throughout the country for their support.
Nanette Ainge, the DHB’s nurse consultant for postgraduate education, told the celebration that 150 nurses in the region had successfully completed postgraduate studies in 2011, which she believed was “truly remarkable” in the circumstances.
Becky Hickmott, co-coordinator for the region’s nursing entry to practice (NETP) and professional development (PDRP) programmes, said despite the quakes, the number of PDRP portfolios submitted by nurses, including nurses from the private hospital and community sector, had grown from 719 in 2010 to 858 in 2011. High numbers of enrolled nurses had also completed the transition programme to the new scope of practice.
The board also celebrated the tenth anniversary of the graduation of its first new graduate progrmme cohort in 2001. That first CDHB cohort had just 23 students; and this year the board and community partners had more than 100 graduates on the NETP programme with only a handful not completing the year.
Tribute was also paid to the 23 mental health new graduates on the board’s 15th anniversary new graduate mental health (NESP) programme and the other mental health nurses who had survived a year that had provided the “ultimate test” for nursing.
The celebration’s final tribute was to Gordon for her strong leadership following the quakes.
Michael McIhone, nursing director for children and women’s health, praised Gordon’s amazing skills for collaboration and her great strategic mind. He said in the immediate aftermath of quakes one leader had dubbed her the “Winston Churchill of nursing” for her ability to galvanise people in times of great stress.
Gordon replied that she had been immensely proud and extremely impressed by her profession’s response to the disaster. “One of the things that we do really well is quietly and quickly getting on and making things happen.”
The celebration closed with a prayer acknowledging the tests of the past 14 months and the contributions of those nurses who had passed away.
