BACN – British Association of Cosmetic Nurses
I am very proud of the BACN (The British Association of Cosmetic Nurses). It is a fast growing non-profit association with links to five hundred nurses in the UK, doing outstanding work with the government and industry. Central to its efforts is supporting nurses to uphold the tenets of our profession and the highest standards of patient care.
I was surprised but delighted to be given outstanding contribution awards presented this weekend at our annual conference. I was also pleased to see several colleagues, for whom I have the greatest of respect, also receive individual awards.
In my acceptance speech, I expressed my gratitude to BACN members and articulated the passionate interest I have in my profession. Central to my acceptance speech, was to convey the sense of pride and professional duty I feel I have to patient care and to my nursing colleagues, particularly those who share an interest in our nursing specialty as members of the BACN. Aesthetic nurses make strenuous efforts to nurse patients appropriately, employing the best standards of practice. Although I am proud of the historic steps that I personally took in 2000 to engage The Royal College of Nursing, as Chairman, to support what was a developing nursing specialty of medical aesthetics, other nurses have come together since then to protect and develop nursing standards and to highlight their roles and specific expertise, all central to good patient care. I salute all the marvelous work that has been conducted by my nursing colleagues throughout the new millennium and I stand united with all 500 of them as they continue to practice at the heart of patient care, in the fastest growing clinical area in the independent healthcare sector. Their achievements to date have brought about The British Association of Cosmetic Nurses, so that aesthetic nurses could be represented by an independent national association. This attests not only to the work and dedication of those nurses, but the membership of the BACN today is a mark of modern aesthetic nurses’ professionalism, abilities, ethics and stamina!
The sacrifices we have all made to get to where we are today warrant reward but, for me, the greatest reward is that we stand united as a result of the valiant efforts of nurses, who have worked steadfastly together – often in difficult, testing conditions – throughout the history of our profession. I will continue to dedicate much heartfelt effort to the BACN, because it deserves the collective efforts of each and every nurse working in the specialty.
I have recently written four articles for separate issues of the Journal of Aesthetic Nursing (JAN) – three detailing the History of Aesthetic Nursing and another on ethical conduct. I look forward in the years ahead to supporting The Journal of Aesthetic Nursing (JAN) and to fostering the collegiality and pride that keeps us all nursing.
