International Year of the Nurse and Midwife 2020

This is our time: 2020 is the Year of the Nurse and Midwife.

2020 is Florence Nightingale’s bicentennial year, designated by World Health Organisation as the first ever global Year of the Nurse and Midwife. Nurses and midwives make up the largest numbers of the NHS workforce. They are highly skilled, multi-faceted professionals from a host of backgrounds that represent our diverse communities. 2020 is our time to reflect on these skills, the commitment and expert clinical care they bring, and the impact they make on the lives of so many. This year is also an opportunity to say thank you to the professions; to showcase their diverse talents and expertise; and to promote nursing and midwifery as careers with a great deal to offer.

Ruth May“In 2020, the spotlight is on us: nurses and midwives are being celebrated not just in England but across the globe. This is the chance to highlight our vast and varied skills and the work we do, and to ensure our professional voice is heard and represented at the heart of all health and care decisions and policy.”
Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer for England

A year of celebration for all

The Year of the Nurse and Midwife is our chance to showcase and celebrate the professions. Nursing and midwifery touch all of our lives at some point: we all have a connection, and we want everybody to be involved. We are planning a series of activities to celebrate the professions and to engage people right across England. These range from the Florence Nightingale 200th birthday celebrations in May, to a pop-up exhibition and a roadshow that takes in all NHS regions throughout much of the year.