Everything changes… and nothing changes

The name Sarah Swift may mean little to you, but she played a pivotal role in the development of modern nursing. One hundred years ago she founded the College of Nursing, which went on to become the RCN, now firmly established as the world’s largest professional nursing organisation.

The RCN will be celebrating its centenary throughout 2016 and Nursing Standard will be playing its part by looking back at the past century, and forward to the next. We begin with a potted history of the college, which starts with a meeting arranged by Miss Swift and the MP Arthur Stanley. This involved around 30 hospital matrons who would become the organisation’s founding members.

Their legacy is immense. In 1916, nursing was perceived to be a vocation followed by single women, much like becoming a nun. But nurses’ contribution on the battlefields of the first world war helped raise the status of nursing and emphasised the importance of proper training. By the time the war ended, the college had thousands of members, and a system of professional regulation soon followed.

The college’s aim then, as it is now, was to advance nursing as a profession. In 1916, this meant introducing a register of qualified nurses, standardising training curricula and qualifications, emphasising continuous development, and positioning nursing as a serious career.

Some of the issues facing nurses in 2016 are remarkably similar to those of their forebears a century ago. Revalidation will be introduced in April, and will place fresh emphasis on ensuring registrants keep their knowledge and skills up to date. The future of nurse education is in the spotlight now, as it was 100 years ago, with the RCN campaigning for the retention of student bursaries and the continued state payment of students’ university fees.

There’s a march through London this weekend in support of the nurses of the coming century. For details of how to join in, go to the Student Bursary Facebook page.