The Department of Nursing of the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta, is today organising a seminar to celebrate the essential contribution that nurses provide through their diverse roles.

The theme chosen by the International Council of Nurses this year is ‘Nurses: A Voice to Lead’. It will be addressed through a discussion of the nurse as a carer, as an educator and as an advocate for the patients and their loved ones.

The three sub-themes to be discussed are: leading as an individual, leading as a professional and leading as a member of the multi-disciplinary team.

This event is being held on the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth (1820-1910), and aims to acclaim nurses’ vital contribution to the health of Maltese society, while empowering nurses to discover their leadership potential.

This seminar gives recognition to the nurses’ work which often goes unseen. Therefore, all current and retired nurses, as well as student nurses and all nursing bodies are invited to attend. A moment of silence will be held at the start of the seminar to commemorate Donia Baldacchino, a professor who passed away recently and who contributed a lot to nurse education and innovative research on spiritual care.

Catherine Sharples, education liaison nurse at Mater Dei Hospital, will give a short presentation on the history of nursing with particular reference to the leadership role. A specially-produced video presentation will then highlight the diversity and impact of a variety of nursing roles.

The discussion will be chaired by Amy Camilleri Zahra. The panel will be made up of Janet Micallef, Kurt Cassar, Maria Cutajar, Vince Saliba, Grace Jaccarini, Victoria Sultana and Josef Trapani.

Roberta Sammut, head of department of nursing at the Faculty of Health Sciences, will conclude the meeting with a summary of the main points raised.

The seminar is being held today at the South Auditorium, Faculty of Health Science, University of Malta, at 4.30pm.