By Andrew Waddington and Ronke Olaide 

Nursing Now is a three year campaign aimed to raise the profile of nurses globally so that the triple impact of nurses can be fully realised.  The demonstrated triple impact of nurses are better health, improvements to gender equity and enhanced economic conditions of the communities in which nurses serve. Nursing Now proposes to enhance the voice of nurses and to encourage and support nurses to take on leadership roles in a variety of capacities so the triple impact of the nurse be achieved.  To embody the essence of the Nursing Now campaign and to make nurses aware to it in Scotland, nursing students and staff from Edinburgh Napier University organised with other regional colleagues an event called ‘Coffee Rounds’ to say thanks to staff nurses at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh.     

At the Coffee Round events the organisers made coffees and delivered them to the nursing staff and others on the wards at the WGH along with a simple message of thanks.  This was the third Coffee Round event hosted by this group and once again, it was amazing to see the smiles that were generated by the simple act of thanks and the gesture of a coffee. Ronke Olaide,  nursing student at Edinburgh Napier University shared her reflections on the experience and the power of a simple act of gratitude. 

 

“I totally had a great experience today and would do it again. I had the opportunity to meet nurses who I am going to be working alongside with when I go for my placements, get to know the wards and other student nurses from another university. It is amazing to know that nurses find their job satisfying even with everyday challenges that come with their jobs.  

I also learnt that a little act of appreciation can make a big difference and put a smile on someone’s face. I was amazed to see how much the nurses we gave coffees to today appreciate this act, and as such I’d hope that nurses are appreciated more often.  

I hope more students will volunteer in the future, they will definitely find it beneficial particularly in widening their networking.“

 

Aderonke (Ronke) Olaide is a second-year student at ENU studying adult health. Ronke aims to leave a positive path in this amazing profession by helping, supporting and advocating for people. 

 

To see more on the Nursing Now Campaign you can go to their webpage or see the World Health Organisation webpage on The Year of the Nurse and Midwife for further details.