The International Nurses' Day is celebrated on May 12. This year, in addition, the event has had a special tinge, as the WHO has declared 2020 as the Year of Nursing, and in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has made the profession especially visible.

To celebrate the day, the School de Enfemería organized a virtualcolloquium with Jorge Martí, a Spanish nurse based in Norway, who shared his experience with the students. Martí is diploma holder in Nursing from the University of Valencia and has been living in Norway for years, where he works at residency program for people with Alzheimer's disease. He is also the vocalist and leader of the indie group La Habitación Roja. In 2018, "In the middle of Norway", a documentary about his life, won one of the Nursing Awards at development granted by the Foundation for Nursing development (Fuden).

"When I was 18 years old and I thought about what to study, I saw that all my friends chose careers with more employment opportunities or that could give them some economic security in the future. I have always liked people, I have always thought that empathy is very important, which is one of the main characteristics of nursing professionals," she began, explaining. "Knowledge can be acquired, but the important thing is that you care about people. And I cared about people. That's why I decided on Nursing."

Asked about his erasmus experience and how it changed his life, Jorge Martí detailed the differences between the Spanish and Norwegian healthcare systems. "In Spain the family is a great support for the sick person. Here in Norway, it is the state that takes care of the patient and that is why a comprehensive way of treating the patient from the nursing point of view is very well developed," he emphasized. "The visibility of the profession is also much higher than in Spain. Nursing is more recognized by society, has more independence, is more present in decision-making positions...", he explained.

In addition to his experience as a nurse, Jorge Martí was able to share with the students the circumstances that have led him, first, to become the primary caregiver for his wife, who was diagnosed in 2010 with myalgic encephalomyelitis; and then, to become a patient himself, after suffering a pulmonary thromboembolism in 2018. "It's very important to take care of the caregiver," he sentenced.

"It is core topic to train ourselves very well, but it is even more important to put ourselves in the other person's shoes. When we are able to do that, we are better able to respond to the challenges that our profession demands of us and better able to help patients," he concluded.

The event was also attended by Ana Choperena, Vice-Dean of Students, who introduced the lecture by recalling the figure of Florence Nightingale, whose birth is commemorated on May 12. Professor Hildegart González moderated the subsequent colloquium with Jorge Martí, which could also be followed live on the YouTube channel of the School and was attended by more than a hundred people.