The Nurses’ Day is celebrated working

They’re very busy; busy listening to a patient or taking care of a medical dossier. They go around the hospital wards in white or green uniforms, smiling, exchanging words or a joke. They face the day like people who have done that job, it seems, for many years and who know all the positive and negative aspects of it. They’re female and male nurses, a profession that has changed significantly over time and that is celebrating its first century of life today, Wednesday, 12th May. "Of course I remembered. I’m glad it exists because many people underestimate our work which is essential for the departments”, affirms Rossella while accompanying a patient to have a CAT scan done.

"I didn’t know", says Mary instead, with surprise and with a smile. Walking around the hospital wards we had a better idea of the nurses’ work from a practical point of view: very challenging from a physical and mental point of view, it takes a lot of patience, kindness and great strength. "We are in contact with people who are ill and it isn’t easy.” explains Rosy “However, the best thing about this job is the patient acknowledgment,  their gratefulness." Not all of them do. Many people take for granted the image of the nurse, who is actually the "link", the reference point between the doctor and the patient and whose " wage is low compared to the European average”. To start with, a high qualification is required, as well as a strong stomach. "I worked in the emergency department for many years. It’s a tough job, it requires a prompt reaction both physically and mentally", says a pretty blue-eyed nurse. All the stories overlap, they describe the daily routine, in the ward or in the operating room, but which remind us of the professionalism and the qualification that you need to have to do this profession. "It is a real job” explains Aurelio Filippini, president of the Collegio Ipavsi of Varese during the information point in Piazza Carducci -“This work can make the difference because it is made for helping people. It requires many sacrifices and a lot of preparation, that is what try to explain to the students who want to do this job". In fact, there is a course for nurses at the Insubria University in Varese. It’s a compulsory course in the  preparation of future nurses. It lasts three years and includes both theory and practice. There are one hundred and fifty places available each year, eighty in Varese and seventy in Como.

The nurses throughout the province are 4,627 today, of which 4,281 are Italian, 346 foreigners (237 are from the EU and 109 non-EU). Furthermore, the Collegio Ipavsi of Varese protects the image of the nurse too. It has drawn up an updated list of freelancers who work on the territory. It will allow the citizens to recognise the qualified staff as well as to promote training courses for the home-care nurses. Tonight at 20:30 at Villa Recalcati, The best nurses of the year will be rewarded, including those enrolled in the Collegio Ipasvi.