I hope you enjoy this. We have come a long way! Nursing has come a long way since lamp lady, Florence (From Gazette)

Long gone are the days when nurses wore starched hats and aprons.
Much more than just the uniform has changed since Florence Nightingale’s time.

At Colchester General Hospital, nurses talked about how the job has evolved to mark national Nurses’ Day.

This year is especially important for nursing as it is also the centenary of Florence Nightingale’s death on August 13.

Born in 1820, she helped turn nursing into a respectable and admirable profession, as well as improving conditions and working practices.

Marilyn Martin, assistant regional officer for the Royal College of Nursing, said: “I think one of the differences now is there are much more in the way of financial pressures and much more emphasis on meeting targets.

“Obviously, there is a need to work within budgets, but sometimes there’s too much emphasis on meeting targets.”

But the targets did mean there was a much greater emphasis on quality and safety, added Mrs Martin, who trained as a nurse in Colchester.

She said: “We in the Royal College of Nursing feel very positive about nursing at the hospital. Generally it’s very positive in terms of meeting targets and with the general way nurses are treated.”

Tina Leppard, a practice development nurse, said training is another key area which has seen change, with the profession moving towards degree-based training.

Mrs Leppard, who has worked at the hospital since 2002, said while nurses needed to have the academic knowledge, care and compassion were still vitally important.

She said: “In years gone by, we used to be seen as the doctor’s handmaiden and not professionals in our own right, but now we have taken on much more extended roles in order to improve the patient experience.”

Mrs Martin added: “There’s another really significant change: Many more patients are nursed out in the community in their own homes.

“Their stay in hospital is reduced, so the nursing staff now in hospital are dealing with significantly more acutely-ill patients.”

Nursing could be a “very difficult” job, Mrs Leppard said, but the rewarding moments outweighed the difficult ones.

In response to any negative feedback nurses may receive, Mrs Leppard said: “We acknowledge we don’t always get it right, but we do strive hard to improve it.

“It would be good to see more positive stories about nursing.”