Editorial: RCN centenary highlights all that unites nurses

Several hundred nurses from around the world gathered in London last week for an international conference held to celebrate the RCN’s centenary.

It was the perfect antidote to a year in which some politicians have sought to divide those from different countries and backgrounds.

The RCN event demonstrated that nurses around the world share much in common, and are stronger when they learn from each other. This is true whether they are launching political campaigns demanding greater recognition, or discussing how best to deliver safe and effective care with limited resources.

Political turmoil

The college’s 100th year has coincided with the Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump as US president. There are fears that the UK will pull up some kind of metaphorical drawbridge on the rest of Europe, while Mr Trump will build a wall – real or virtual – that divides his country from its southern neighbour.

Yet people in the UK voted to leave the European Union for various reasons, and many of Mr Trump’s supporters would not endorse his more bigoted views. Neither result means nursing staff from around the world will not continue to co-operate in the interests of their patients.

The RCN was formed in the midst of the first world war, and has celebrated its centenary amid political turmoil on a scale few of us have previously witnessed.

Here’s hoping the next 100 years will be more peaceful.