The Courage to Care-An innovative arts-based event to engage students and the local community to reflect on Australian nurses' roles in the First World War and after.
There is a large body of work that documents the history of the nursing profession and the experiences of nurses during significant historical eras such as the First World War. Yet learning about nursing history is commonly a tiny, or absent, component in the undergraduate nursing curriculum. This paper discusses an innovative project that had multiple aims. A primary aim was to engage nursing students and educators in a project that valued nursing history by integrating it into an event to celebrate International Nurses Day. As the paper will explain, other aims were in organising the event so that it capitalised on particular creative arts strengths within the faculty, offering cross-disciplinary connections, engagement and appreciation. A Readers' Theatre event, involving academics and students in nursing, creative arts and education, was conceived, developed and performed for the community. The theme was the experiences of First World War nurses and how they encapsulated values important to nursing today - the 6 Cs - which guide high standards of nursing. The 6 Cs are care, compassion, competence, communication, courage and commitment. We called the Readers' Theatre "The Courage to Care", and this involved a 4month process of script development, event planning and a performance. This process and outcomes were evaluated, prompting a reflection on the strengths and challenges of working in this creative way to engage a wide group of stakeholders to advance the profession of nursing.
School of Nursing and Midwifery, CQUniversity, QLD, Australia. Electronic address: m.mcallister@cqu.edu.au.
Margaret
M
McAllister
School of Education and the Arts, CQUniversity, QLD Australia.
Susan
S
Davis
School of Education and the Arts, CQUniversity, QLD Australia.
Donna Lee
DL
Brien
School of Nursing and Midwifery, CQUniversity, QLD, Australia.
Irene
I
Rogers
School of Nursing and Midwifery, CQUniversity, QLD, Australia.
Wendy
W
Flanagan
School of Nursing and Midwifery, CQUniversity, QLD, Australia.
Virginia
V
Howie
School of Education and the Arts, CQUniversity, QLD Australia.
Jo
J
Dargusch
D002983:Clinical Competence; D066279:Courage; D003405:Creativity; D006676:History of Nursing; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008888:Military Nursing; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009740:Nursing Staff; D013338:Students, Nursing; D047828:World War I
Creative learning; Nursing history; Readers' Theatre; Transformative learning