Celebrated each year on May 12, International Nurses Day recognizes the contributions of nurses to health-care systems worldwide. The day was established by the International Council of Nurses in 1974, and May 12 marks the birthday of Florence Nightingale, who is the founder of modern nursing (described as a highly skilled, evidence-based health-care profession focused on comprehensive patient care, disease prevention, and health promotion by the American Nurses Association).

Nurses spend most of their day at their job — in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and more. They spend their time taking care of patients, performing diagnostics, keeping people safe, prescribing medications and doing treatment administration. This work can be long and tiring — for some nurses working in hospital settings, a workday can last up to 12 hours. With the length of work shifts, quick decision-making and attention to detail required, nurses demonstrate remarkable resilience, skill and dedication every single day.

There are several different types of nurses, each trained to provide care in specific ways. Registered nurses provide direct patient care, give medications, monitor health and work closely with doctors in hospitals, clinics, schools and nursing homes. Licensed practical nurses support registered nurses and doctors — they help patients with daily activities and take vital signs. Nurse practitioners can often diagnose illnesses and provide medication, and work in clinics, hospitals and community health centres. Specialized nurses are trained to work in specific fields, allowing them to provide expert care for patients with specific needs. Overall, these different types of nurses play an essential role in providing high-quality health care.

Before becoming a nurse, years of schooling are required. According to The College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba website, you must complete a four-year bachelor’s degree in nursing to become a registered nurse. To become a licensed practical nurse, you complete a practical nursing diploma program, which usually takes two to three years. These training opportunities highlight the preparation and responsibility that comes with a career in nursing.

A growing number of low-income seniors living in social housing (government and non-profit housing) are bearing the brunt of the provincial government’s homelessness strategy.

As pressure mounts to house precariously housed and homeless people, 55-plus buildings are often where they end up, and when you place people with complex needs and inadequate supports with vulnerable seniors who mainly need safe, affordable and stable housing, the outcome can be disastrous.

As co-chairs of the Seniors Working Group for the Right to Housing Coalition, we’ve heard from seniors who live in these buildings and, up until recently, have been content with their living arrangements.

In fact, we are learning that seniors in these 55-plus buildings tend to develop a sense of community, with informal networks of mutual aid and support as a common practice.

The small community of Arviat, Nunavut, has reportedly been selected to host the main campus of Inuit Nunangat University, the first Inuit-led university in Canada. The institution is expected to open in 2030.

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), which represents Canada’s 70,000 Inuit, passed a resolution to develop the university in 2017, “marking a significant step toward self-determination in higher education.”

The vision and plans for the university reflect a common saying among the Indigenous Peoples of the Prairies: “Education is the new buffalo.” It alludes to the importance of buffalo to Indigenous Peoples prior to the animal’s near-extinction in the late 19th century, and the importance placed on education today.

This emphasis on education is partly a response to colonial policies that systematically denied Indigenous Peoples access to quality education for generations.