Nurses Day recognises dedication

More than 300,000 of the hardest-working Australians will be saluted today for International Nurses Day.

Speaking ahead of the celebration, Busselton Emergency Department nurse Emma Stewart said the old adage about nurses being overworked and underpaid was “absolutely” true.

The nurse of 17 years said they worked so hard for the wellbeing of their patients, but there were other benefits to the job.

“It’s got good travelling prospects, it’s very family-friendly and you can always find parttime work,” she said.

“(It provides) excellent chances to meet lots of different people in different walks of life and there’s lots of areas to branch out to.”

Mrs Stewart is originally from Donnybrook, but nursing has taken her to Perth, Dunsborough and even the UK before she started at Busselton Hospital six weeks ago.

She said she supported the idea of International Nurses Day because “like anything, it’s nice to have some recognition”.