Shining A Light On The Stories Of Nurses

This International Nurses Day, two Brighton residents will be celebrating the release of an anthology that shares the experiences of nurses.

Wendy Trevarthen and John Rosenberg are two of six nurses who have contributed their stories and wisdom to Dear Nurse Me… Reflections, which was published in March.

Wendy, an author, business development specialist and registered nurse, compiled the book and guided the other authors through the writing journey.

“I wanted to pull together other nurses who shared the same desire to write about their nursing careers in a way to inspire those who are looking to enter the profession, to impart to younger nurses some of the lessons we have learned along the way and to support other nurses in their current roles,” Wendy said.

“The style of the book is in the form of writing a letter to our younger selves, with each of the co-authors having the opportunity to be creative within this concept.

“We hope that readers connect with and relate to our reflections.”

Wendy’s contribution to the book, A Passionate Purpose, describes how she chose to enter the nursing profession after her father developed Guillain-Barre Syndrome when she was 17 years old.

“My ‘why’ is very similar to other nurses who enter nursing, who relate their client care provision to caring for their own family,” she said. 

International Nurses Day is on Thursday, 12 May and Wendy and John will be spending it with their co-authors.

“We are aiming for four of the six authors to be together to not only celebrate the day, but to share in person the celebration of completing this project,” she said. 

Wendy said International Nurses Day was important for nurses globally as it commemorated the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing.

“Each year the International Council selects a theme for nurses globally to recognise a different aspect of nursing,” Wendy said. “This year the theme is Nurses: A Voice to Lead – invest in nursing and respect rights to secure global health.

“In light of the current status of global health and to strive towards global peace, this is a fitting theme for nurses and our community.”

To purchase a copy of Dear Nurse Me… Reflections go to johnrosenberg64@gmail.com or wendy@healthyoptionsnow.org