International Nurses Day

International Nurses Day is celebrated on May 12, as a day to celebrate and acknowledge the work of nurses. The Australian College of Nurses (2024) highlights International Nurses Day as a day to reflect on the impact made by nurses to the communities they serve. 

The date of May 12 is significant because it is the birthday of Florence Nightingale, who is considered to be the founder of modern nursing (Open RN, 2020). Nightingale emphasised, the value of an environment conducive to healing, patient confidentiality and building rapport with patients, all features of modern-day nursing (Open RN, 2020).

JCU Library supports the efforts of our Nursing and Midwifery academics and students by:

• Providing access to commercial textbooks, journals and other resources
• Creating curated collections of Open Educational Resources
• Searching and referencing help
• Research support
• Digital and information literacy programs to enhance student learning and contribute to the learning, teaching and research aims of the University.

JCU Nursing academics have shown a commitment to equitable access to information by developing Open Educational Resources for the use in their subjects. Three books have been published as part of the JCU Library Open Education Program and include the following titles:

• A long goodbye: Ed and Mary's Journey with Lewy body dementia
• An Introduction to Research Methods for Undergraduate Health Profession Students
• Documentation in Nursing and Midwifery: Australian edition

These books are part of a larger project that addresses the increasing cost of textbooks to students, called the Textbook Affordability Project. Financial pressures are a key challenge for many students, and JCU Library is committed to making education accessible and equitable for all, by helping reduce the cost of prescribed textbooks.

To address this issue, JCU Library has launched a Textbook Affordability Project (2024-2025) where library staff invite collaboration with first-year core subject stakeholders to investigate if free-for-student alternatives can be identified. Connect with JCU Library to participate or share a JCU story relevant to this transformative project.

References:

Australian College of Nursing. (2024, April 16). Five ways to celebrate International Nurses Day.  https://www.acn.edu.au/nurseclick/five-ways-to-celebrate-international-nurses-day

Ernstmeyer, K. & Christman, E. (Eds.). (2021). Nursing fundamentals. WisTechOpen. https://wtcs.pressbooks.pub/nursingfundamentals/chapter/1-2-history-and-foundation/