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UK nurse to lead global campaign to find future nursing leaders and policy influencers

Health Education England’s chief nurse will take charge of the Nightingale Challenge
Lisa Bayliss-Pratt

Health Education England’s chief nurse will take charge of the Nightingale Challenge


Lisa Bayliss-Pratt wants young nurses' views to be listened to at policy-making level.

An eminent UK nurse is heading a global initiative to equip 20,000 young nurses and midwives with the skills to become future leaders in their fields.

Health Education England chief nurse Lisa Bayliss-Pratt has been appointed head of the Nightingale Challenge, which calls on health employers around the world to provide leadership and development training for nurses and midwives aged 35 and under. The aim is to have at least 20,000 staff from 1,000 organisations taking part during 2020, the bicentenary of Florence Nightingale's birth.

Professor Bayliss-Pratt said she was honoured to take part in such an important project.

‘We want to see more nurses in senior leadership roles, where their voices can be heard and they can bring their perspectives and advocacy to policy-making nationally and globally,' she added.

'By encouraging investment in education and development, the Nightingale Challenge will help make this a reality and I’m looking forward to seeing this take shape over the coming months.'

Professor Bayliss-Pratt will officially launch the Nightingale Challenge at the International Council of Nurses (ICN) world congress in Singapore later this month.

The Nightingale Challenge is part of the wider Nursing Now campaign, a three-year global campaign to raise the status and profile of nursing and midwifery.

What is Nursing Now, and what does it want to achieve?

Nursing Now was launched in 2018 by the ICN and World Health Organization, and has five aims:

  • To ensure nurses and midwives have a more prominent voice in health policy-making
  • To encourage greater investment in the nursing workforce
  • To recruit more nurses into leadership positions
  • To conduct research that helps determine where nurses can have the greatest impact
  • To share best nursing practice

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