Community
8 May, 2026
Shining the light on nurses
NURSES play a vital role in a patient’s health and wellbeing (and in the health system as a whole) and deserve to be recognised.
That recognition will be highlighted during a special event for all past, present and future nurses, to be held at South West Healthcare Warrnambool next Tuesday, May 12.
According to Sue Anderton, Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer at SWH, next week’s event will be a celebration of the contribution made by nurses and midwives, both past and present.
“We will be celebrating both International Nurses Day and International Midwives Day (which was May 5),” she said.
“This joint celebration highlights the importance and recognition of nurses and midwives and the roles they play in health services such as ours.
“When many staff are long gone home, it’s our nurses that are here on the wards attending to patients.”
The event will also provide an opportunity to reflect on how far the nursing profession has come since the days of Florence Nightingale.
“We’ve certainly come a very long way since then,” Ms Anderton said.
“No longer do we see the crisp white dresses, capes and hats; our nurses today wear scrubs which is vastly different to the starched uniform, hats and dresses of years gone by. Our paediatric nurses wear vibrant, colourful scrubs which are really well received by patients. We’ve had lovely feedback on the uniforms, particularly in paediatrics.”
Next Tuesday’s celebration will include current SWH nursing and midwifery staff as guest speakers who will talk on their nursing journeys, and share some inspirational stories.
“In previous years we’ve had nurses on the panel who spoke about living in the old nurses’ quartes and what they used to get up to – it certainly brought laughs to the room.
“We even heard from one lady who was close to 90 years old; she certainly gave a different account to what nursing was like for her.”
This year’s theme for International Midwives Day is ‘One Million More Midwives’ which reflects the current global shortage in the profession.
And for International Nurses Day, the theme is ‘Our Nurses are our Future, Empowered Nurses save Lives’ (reflecting on the importance of valuing and empowering our nurses).
“We’re very lucky here at South West Healthcare to be able to grown our own through upskilling and career progression. We work hard to keep our nurses in our communities and I think we do that well,” Ms Anderton said.
Next Tuesday’s celebration will be held in the Frank Lodge at SWH Warrnambool from 11.30am.
All past, present and future (those currently studying at university or TAFE) nurses/midwives are most welcome to attend.
For more information on next Tuesday’s event contact https://southwesthealthcare.com.au
