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International Nurses Day and Nursing Core Values

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International Nurses Day

International Nurses Day is celebrated today worldwide. Innovative approaches to nursing education and unprecedented health challenges have undoubtedly shaped the field, yet core nursing values remain the same. Care, compassion and commitment continue to be central to the profession. They are also the foundation of Hibernia College’s new BSc (Hons) in Nursing in General Nursing. We want to take a moment today to celebrate nurses, the values they embody and the person who established the standards for nursing today.

Founder of Modern Nursing

The theme for this year’s annual observance, set forth by the International Council of Nurses, is ‘Nurses: A Voice to Lead — Invest in Nursing and Respect Rights to Secure Global Health’. The selected date honours Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, who was born on 12 May 1820.

Nightingale professionalised nursing roles and established the first secular nursing school in the world. As a writer and communicator, Nightingale shared nursing knowledge in easily understood ways. To effectively convey statistics, she pioneered the visualisation of data as viewed in infographics. She organised care for wounded soldiers during the Crimean War (1853–1856), advocated for women, shaped policy, and improved healthcare and social rights in England and beyond.

Florence Nightingale shaped the field of nursing as we know it today. The values Florence Nightingale set forth are enshrined in her 1898 text Notes on nursing, which is available to students, staff and faculty in the Hibernia College Library.

Care, Compassion and Commitment

Care, compassion and commitment in nursing was the philosophy of Florence Nightingale and is the focus of our new programme; person-centred care, quality and safety are at its core. Students gain a deep understanding of the nature of care as well as a highly developed capacity to be exemplary in clinical practice.

These values honour Nightingale’s legacy of empathy and healing. We remember her quote, ‘To love — to help one another to strive together to act together — to work to the same end.’  

Same Heart, Different Uniform

The interior core values of nursing endure while the exterior has undergone noticeable change. This is visibly evident in nursing uniforms. Pictured on the left is the uniform worn by Naomi Pasley, Lecturer in Nurse Education, during her education in the Adelaide Hospital, Dublin where she became a Registered General Nurse (RGN). The hat she was required to wear is not pictured. The right features the uniform of the first cohort of Hibernia College nursing students. They received their uniforms this month in preparation for their first clinical placements.

We wish to express our gratitude to nurses around the world on this special day. And ‘hats off’ to the Hibernia College nursing students soon undertaking their clinical placements.

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