Page 16 - QARANC Vol 19 No 2 2021

14 The Gazette QARANC Association
Representing Military Nurses at the Florence Nightingale Commemoration Service 2021
Every year on 12 May, the Florence Nightingale commemoration service is held in Westminster Abbey. It also marks International Nurses Day. After missing last year’s commemoration at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, this year’s commemoration was special as we celebrated the incredible contributions of nurses and other health
workers and key workers in combating COVID-19. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, only a few guests were invited to the socially distanced event as representatives of nursing and midwifery, as well as ambassadors to the Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF).
As an FNF scholar
alumnus, it was an honour
to be among the few invited guests to represent other scholars and military nurses in this year’s special event to commemorate and celebrate the wonderful work of Florence Nightingale. Whereas the Crimean War is long gone, the basic nursing advocated by Florence remains the core of today’s nursing. As Florence and her team became instrumental in the recovery of, and of hope to
soldiers, so are the nurses and the health professionals during the battle against COVID-19 and other diseases. We represent hope to our patients as she did to the soldiers. Yes, whenever they saw the lamp carried by ‘the Lady of the Lamp’ during the night’s ward rounds, they saw hope for their survival. Hence the reason that today the lamp
has become an international symbol of nursing.
Since 1968, the procession of the lamp is central to the Florence Nightingale commemoration service. It is normally carried by a Florence Nightingale scholar and is escorted by student nurses which signifies the knowledge of nursing and transfer of knowledge to the future nursing generations.
The Florence Nightingale Foundation offers scholarships to nurses and midwives in the UK with the aim that they will improve patient care, policies, and their practice. Several scholarships are available and include travel scholarship or leadership scholarships. I am a beneficiary of the Army Nursing Development Scholarship, a scholarship which was funded by the QARANC Association for myself and nine other colleagues,
along with an Emerging Leader Scholarship.
The QARANC Association will be funding their third year of scholarships this year. For more information on how to become a scholar, please visit the Florence Nightingale Foundation website at: https:// florence-nightingale-foundation.org. uk/scholarships/ Applications open in October 2021.
Sergeant Mwaura
Practice Nurse DPHC (E) Colchester
Whereas the Crimean War is long gone, the basic nursing advocated by Florence remains the core of today’s nursing