Year of the Nurse and the Midwife 2020

27th February 2020

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has dedicated 2020 to nurses and midwives, providing a "once in a generation opportunity" to showcase the professions

Chosen to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, the celebration is a year-long effort to celebrate the work of nurses and midwives, highlighting their role in improving health, supporting service delivery and driving innovation.

Nurses and midwives are the biggest cadre of health workers in the world, and play a crucial role in clinical research. From adult, paediatric, mental health, community nurses and many more specialisms; nursing teams provide support for the delivery and conduct of research studies whilst providing specialist nursing care and management of research participants. Research nurses are trained in Immediate Life Support (ILS) or Paediatric Immediate Life Support (PILS) and Good Clinical Practice (GCP) as standard, and hold basic as well as advanced clinical competencies including venepuncture, cannulation, and the administration of chemotherapeutic and biological agents.

Professor David Crossman, Chief Scientist, Scottish Government said: “It is fitting the role of nurses and midwives be celebrated. Simply put, without them, clinical trials could not take place. On behalf of Chief Scientist Office and NHS Research Scotland I’d like to thank our nurses and midwives for their expertise, professionalism and support to ensure clinical research is a cornerstone of person-centred healthcare.”

In Scotland, a number of celebratory events will take place across the course of the year including International Day of the Midwife (Tuesday 5 May) and International Nurses Day (Tuesday 12 May). Resources and information will be made available throughout the year at www.ournhsscotland.com.

Stay up to date with activity on social media via #ScotNurses2020 and #ScotMidwives2020.

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