Nurses voice to lead delivering global healthcare for older people

Esther Clift is chair of the BGS's Nurses and AHP Council #NAHPCouncil. She tweets at @EstherClift

I’ll let you into a secret; I have a vested interest in international nurses- I raised one. My daughter was born in Tanzania, and is now a primary care nurse. I hope you can tell how proud I am of her.

Nurses are the majority profession in the NHS workforce, delivering stellar care for our patients day in, day out. Often a nurse is the person you see at home, to deliver your COVID vaccination, support your wound healing, manage your heart failure and respiratory long-term conditions or hold your hand as you breathe your last breath. A nurse will follow each clinical step of your journey through a hospital stay, and a nurse will support your care in a care home. A nurse may lead the research which led to the evidence-based interventions you are receiving, and a nurse will have contributed to setting the policy around delivering care in any setting. We have some incredible nursing leaders bringing the voice of common sense and patient care to the forefront of systems change.

Our services are filled with nurses from across the world, and we are delighted to have a steady stream of these professionals joining our ranks and bolstering our workforce. We also have nurses from the UK spending time in all four corners of the globe teaching, training, and contributing to global health.

To celebrate the variety of roles played by nurses in older people’s healthcare, we have asked four nurses to share their voices this week, in each of the four pillars of advanced practice: clinical, research, leadership, and education.

Sarah Goldberg is the vice-treasurer of the BGS, and is the Professor of Older Persons Care, School of Health Sciences, at the University of Nottingham. Vivian Zinyemba is Health Education England’s Regional Training Programme Lead (South East Faculty) and he leads the frailty and community work stream. Stacey Finlay is the Northern Ireland rep on the BGS Nurses and AHPs Council committee, and an Intermediate Care Sister in the Domnall Intermediate Care Centre. Lyndsey Dunn is our Scottish Council rep and the vice-chair of the BGS Nurses and AHP Council. They are all brilliant examples of their profession.

We are always keen to see our membership grow, and to encourage the active participation of nurses in the work of the BGS. I wonder if you could invite a colleague to join the BGS today? On Thursday 12 May we have a 15 percent discount for new category C members (nurses and AHPs). Join the BGS here using the code IND2022. The offer runs until Sunday 15 May. If you have any questions, please contact BGS membership.