International Nurses Day 2021: A vision for future healthcare

June 2, 2021

The International Nurses Day was celebrated globally this month. In an era where so much emphasis has been placed on the essential role played by nurses during the Covid-19 pandemic, let’s have a closer look at this celebration and its origins. On Nurses’ Day, which celebrates nurses’ contribution to the health care system, we are also focusing on two nurses from Clinique Bon Pasteur.

May 12: the celebration of the International Nurses Day every year! Bound by tradition, Clinique Bon Pasteur also celebrated this event this year, as a means of paying tribute to our nurses.

Launched in 1965 by the International Council of Nurses (ICN), this date has been chosen to commemorate Florence Nightingale’s birth. The latter, born in 1820, was a British nurse who pioneered the setting-up of the first science-based nursing school in London. She is also known for her contribution in the use of statistics in the field of health.

Like her, many nurses around the world are committed to their profession, and for some, it has passed down from generation to generation, like Michael Jerry Toussaint, nurse at Clinique Bon Pasteur. Having seen several family members in the profession, he has been motivated to carry on the family tradition. “I have that in my soul, in my blood, and I have been in this profession for 15 years now “. As for Sheela Kamayah, Nursing supervisor at Clinique Bon Pasteur, she chose this profession as she has always been prone to helping people: “I like to give a helping hand to people and alleviate their suffering, it is my vocation, and that is why I have chosen this profession which I have been practising for almost 20 years now”. For her, “Clinique Bon Pasteur gave me the opportunity to make my dream come true”.

According to the ICN, “the pandemic has exposed the enormous pressures our nurses are working under, while shining a light on their incredible commitment and courage”, and each nurse can have a different perspective on this pandemic. For Mr. Toussaint, he does not really feel exposed to the virus, and did not experience this lockdown period with a lot of stress, even if he was working at the clinic during this time: “Since we have not had any case of Covid at the clinic so far, I did not feel that I was really exposed”. He felt, however, that some members of the public were afraid of him because of his profession, although this is understandable, he said, given the situation in the country now. For Ms. Kamayah however, she has worked hard during the lockdown, and although she was not afraid for herself, the idea of possibly infecting her loved ones sent shivers down her spine. This second confinement was peculiar, as there were more patients coming to the clinic. According to her, during the first confinement, patients were afraid to come to the clinic, but this year, patients were more numerous, and some chose health centres like Clinique Bon Pasteur, where there were no Covid cases.

The theme for International Nurses Day 2021: The Nursing Profession: A Voice to Lead, the sub-theme being “A Vision for future healthcare”. For the ICN, this theme “reflects on the impact of Covid-19 on the health system and the nursing profession and how these might be affected into the future. Nurses, as the largest healthcare profession, must play an integral part in planning the future of healthcare”. Ms. Kamayah thinks this is an interesting topic, because nurses need to be encouraged to do so. As for Mr. Toussaint, he says he is already living it fully: “during my 15 years of service, this has been the case. As a nurse, we are there 24/7 at the patients’ bedside”

Like our two colleagues, many are in this profession at Clinique Bon Pasteur. Feel free to call Clinique Bon Pasteur for any health related issue on 401-9500, and if you come to our clinic, you will have the opportunity to see our nurses in action. To these men and women devoted night and day, we wish them a happy Nurses Day, a celebration of the noble acts accomplished by nurses for society!

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