Nurse attends Florence Nightingale commemoration

An Advanced Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (ANNP) from Plymouth attended the annual commemoration of the life and work of Florence Nightingale at Westminster Abbey last night (7 May).

The Service is held to celebrate nursing and midwifery staff, both qualified and unqualified, working in these services.

Nurses, midwives, health visitors and government ministers will be amongst those attending, as well as Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra, Patron of the Florence Nightingale Foundation.

Róisín McKeon-Carter, who works in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Derriford Hospital, has also been selected to be part of the procession of nurses who will escort a lamp, symbolic of the iconic nurse, during the service.

The lamp will be taken from the Florence Nightingale Chapel during the service and carried by a Scholar of the Florence Nightingale Foundation, escorted by student nurses and midwives from The University of the West of England. The lamp is then handed over to the Dean of Westminster, The Very Reverend Dr John Hall who will place it on the High Alter.

Róisín said: “It’s an honour to be invited to take part in the commemorative service and to be included in the procession to carry the lamp. I attended last year as a guest and felt so proud of my nursing profession.”

In 2012, Róisín applied for and was awarded the Florence Nightingale Leadership Scholarship, which was supported by the Florence Nightingale Foundation and Burdett Trust. The value of the scholarship was £15,000, which enabled her to develop leadership skills. The Trust supported the application, which is a prestigious award and it has raised the profile of the NICU, Derriford.

The leadership programme consisted of numerous assessments & tests namely; Myers Briggs (ENTP type), 360 appraisal completed by 10 colleagues, Influencing Style Audit, Emotional Intelligence - leadership competences, Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, Perspectives on politics and Honey & Mumford: Learning Style. The scholarship also enabled Róisín to complete a Harvard leadership programme ‘Leading Change through Organisational Renewal (LCOR)’ with other leadership scholars. She also attended the Kings Fund ‘Personal Impact and Influence’ program. Throughout the scholarship, Róisín was mentored by the Chief Nurse from Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Róisín explained: “My aim in applying to the fund was to highlight the role of the advanced nursing practice across the country. Over the past few years, developments in healthcare has resulted in nursing taking on what, historically, was a doctor’s role. There is no national strategy around Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANP) nor are we on the NMC register, therefore I used my scholarship to work with stakeholders e.g. the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), BLISS, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and British Association of Perinatal Medicine (BAPM) to highlight hybrid working with ANPs and medical staff.

“Through the scholarship, I visited the South Island in New Zealand in March this year and spent a week in two NICUs, Christchurch and Dunedin, meeting staff and comparing services. The experience made me appreciate the high standard of care Plymouth NICU provides for babies in our care and I feel very proud of our dedicated and professional team.

“The Florence Nightingale Scholarship is a fantastic opportunity and I have gained both personally and professionally. The programme and support has enabled me to successfully apply for the Neonatal Service Line Clinical Director role. Had I not been awarded the scholarship, I would not have had the ‘tools in my toolbox’ to undertake this leadership role within PHNT. I am very grateful to the Florence Nightingale Foundation and would urge all senior nurses to apply for the leadership scholarship.”