Crisis, crisis, crisis

The cost of living crisis, energy crisis and climate crisis. With a new and emerging crisis being reported by mainstream media all too frequently, I think I can speak for most when I say that now is indeed a time of great uncertainty. It has been a very hard 3 years, we are all feeling it and, without an end in sight, I am finding it difficult to find a positive for this year-end right now.

Not only do we face great uncertainty, but we suffered a collective loss in September this year with the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. It was with genuine sadness that I learned of the loss of Her Majesty The Queen, our Patron of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).

The Queen has championed nurses and nursing causes throughout her reign, and even before she was Queen. As the then Princess Elizabeth, she supported the Student Nursing Association as its President in 1944. Following her coronation in 1953, Queen Elizabeth II became Patron of the RCN. Her Majesty's association with the RCN was long-standing for some 65 years (Ford, 2022).