Retired and Current Nurses Come Together to Celebrate International Nurses Day at Mercy Place Mandurah

International Nurses Day (May 12 2023) will cut through the generations at Mercy Place Mandurah, as retired nurses who are now residents of the not-for-profit aged care home celebrate their careers of caring alongside current nursing staff.

And amongst those who will be reminiscing with a celebratory morning tea is retired nursing assistant and current Mercy Health resident, 79-year-old Maureen, who herself worked for several aged care homes in and around Fremantle for over 35 years.

Maureen will be joined by Mercy Place Mandurah’s clinical care manager, Naomi Fair, who qualified as a Registered Nurse as a mature age student when she was 33 years old and juggling being a mum to three small children.

“I always wanted to be a nurse, ever since I was a sick child myself and I particularly love being a nurse at Mercy Place Mandurah where I can look after the older generation who are like my second family,” says Naomi, who has worked for the not-for-profit aged care home for almost four years.

“Nursing offers a really wonderful and meaningful vocation, and it offers lots of career pathways that can give you so many options for the future, plus there’s always opportunities for continuous learning and further career development. I would recommend it to anyone who would like to make a positive difference to others during their working life.”

International Nurses’ Day is an annual celebration of nursing held across the globe on 12 May - Florence Nightingale’s birthday - which pays tribute to the nursing profession and the magnificent contribution of nurses worldwide.

The day of celebrations will see Mercy Place Mandurah nurses and residents treated to a celebratory morning tea and, for the retired nurses at the home, a trip down memory lane as both current and retired nurses swap stories from their careers.

Mercy Place Mandurah Service Manager, Simone Baxter, says International Nurses’ Day provides an important opportunity to celebrate nursing as a profession, and that residents were particularly keen to acknowledge the professionalism and care they receive from nursing staff on the day itself.

“Mercy Place Mandurah is very fortunate to have a wonderful team of dedicated and professional nurses and we think Florence Nightingale’s birthday is the perfect time to acknowledge them for their dedication and levels of care, which are second to none,” she says.

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