Public Health Nursing Division

International Nurses Day Celebration 2004

Everybody, not only nurses, are familiar with the name Florence Nightingale who was born more than one hundred and fifty years ago and has been renowned for her enormous influence on the nursing profession.  Indeed, she has opened up the prime avenue following which nursing develops its modern scientific practice and strides towards professionalism through advanced nursing education.  Hence, to commemorate this remarkable pioneer of nursing, people have designated her birthday, the twelfth of May as the International Nurses Day. Since then, nurses all over the world have organized various types of activities each year to celebrate this great and important day.  To join hands with her counterparts worldwide, the Public Health Nursing Division (PHND) of the Department of Health (Department) organized a celebration cum dinner party for her nursing staff on that day to facilitate the sharing of joy and experience among nurses.  Moreover, it was also an occasion in which nurses reflected their feelings and shared innovations in taking on new and expanded roles in serving the community.

This year's celebration had a special meaning for our nursing colleagues.  We missed the fun last year when we were obliged to call off the International Nurses Day celebration at the last moment because of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak.  The year 2003 was an unforgettable year for our nursing colleagues.  Never in our nursing career life had we encountered anything as challenging as the battle against SARS.  We are proud that all nurses contributed to combating this unprecedented infection with adorable devotion and exemplary courage.  So we would like to make our celebration this year an enjoyable and relaxing evening event for our nursing participants.

The theme of this year's celebration evolved around public health nurses' new roles in the new millennium.  The celebration cum dinner party attracted more than 360 nursing and allied grades staff.  It embraced the serving as well as retired nurses of our Department. We were honored to have Dr. Luke TSANG, Consultant (Family Medicine) as our distinguished guest. He gave us an inspiring and enlightening speech that encouraged us to continue striving for excellence in our new roles to achieve professionalism.  His discussion on the issue definitely impressed the participants and gave them ample food for thought as well as substantial issues to ruminate about in the coming days.

The celebration also included presentations from representatives of the Family Health Service and the Student Health Service on the new roles of nurses in their services.  Nurses in the Family Health Service were trained to take cervical smears for their clients attending the Family Planning Clinic and many other expanded and extended roles.  On the other hand, our nurses in the Student Health Service are active and important members of the multi-disciplinary team in launching the outreach health promotion activities for secondary school students in the Adolescent Health Programme.

We were also especially privileged to have a group of talented and energetic nurses from different services presenting the para-para dance and the hula-loop dance for us.  The dancing was so fascinating and entertaining that no wonder they won great applause from the audience.  The lucky draw and the delicious food also gave the participants lots of fun and enjoyment. 

We are grateful for the support from our Principal Nursing Officer, our two Chief Nursing Officers, guests and all colleagues who gave their support by participating in the event.  We look forward to having all nursing colleagues of the Department to join our 2005 International Nurses Day celebration next year.

From this day onwards, let us continue to abide by the spirit of Florence Nightingale with our professional commitment to promoting and protecting the health of our community as well as to pursuing life long learning towards professionalism. Nurses' unique and selfless contributions to the health care system make us the veritable angels on earth.  We are proud to be excellent nurses!