“It’s not just a job...it’s a career where you make an impact every day”

Tuesday 04 August 2020

One positive to draw out of the pandemic is the support it has generated for essential workers, such as the island's nurses.

From clapping on our doorsteps on a Thursday night, to the many messages of support displayed in local windows, the past few months have seen nurses recognised for the work they do.

That theme continued this week, with De Gruchy unveiling a new window display celebrating the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.

The aim is to raise the profile of nursing, and encourage people to choose it as a career. The display shows nursing across the ages, and the fact that more men have now come into the profession.

Pictured: The Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Richard Renouf.

Health Minister Deputy Richard Renouf said: “It is a great opportunity, specially that there are people in the island that don’t want to go away to study, and they don’t have to, you can get a full university degree course here to enter a profession that is really rewarding.”

“We want to recruit more nurses and midwives and healthcare assistants. Our recruitment isn’t bad at the moment, but we constantly need to renew that and we have good training on the island – both general nursing and mental health nursing."

Although the current covid-19 crisis has made it more pertinent to celebrate the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, it has also put a stop to many events that had been planned since last year. 

Pictured: The Minister of Health and Social Services, Deputy Richard Renouf, and Chief Nurse Rose Naylor

Chief Nurse Rose Naylor explained that the window display at De Gruchy was originally part of a whole series of events planned to promote the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, many of which involved lots of people coming together.

“A lot of our plans have been put on hold, but thankfully things like this we can do without worrying about people being too close together in confined spaces so we can keep nursing on the public agenda.”

De Gruchy Store Director John Marquis added: “To give that piece of space in the window is valuable - we know that when we put products in windows we get good commercial results, but this is an important message to get across."