Roger Watson, Professor of Nursing at The University of Hull
has been appointed to lead a Lancet
commission on UK nursing. Professor
Watson will lead a team of eminent UK and international nurses over the next
two years to investigate nursing education, organisation and practice in the
UK. The need for the commission arose as
a result of the poor image of nursing that is sometimes projected by the UK
media compared with the high esteem in which nursing is held in most other
countries, especially in the USA. The
aim of the Lancet commission is to
make proposals which will address these issues and influence, positively, the
future of nursing in the UK.
Professor Watson says: "There have been several nursing
commissions in recent years but most have investigated problems in the
profession and none have really shifted UK popular and political opinion away
from the negative stereotypes of university educated nurses. University education for nurses has been the
norm for decades in most other countries and evidence supports the value of
university education for nurses. I hope
this Lancet commission can help to
form opinions and influence decision-makers."
Roger Watson PhD FRCN FAAN is Professor of Nursing,
University of Hull; Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Advanced Nursing; Editor,
Nursing Open; and a member of the 2014 Research Excellence Framework sub-panel
for Dentistry, Allied Health Professions, Nursing and Pharmacy.
Parveen Ali PhD FHEA, Lecturer, Faculty of Health and Social
Care, University of Hull will join the commission as secretary and support
Professor Watson.
3 January 2014
