A new song featuring the Tongan Nurses Choir as well as other nurses from around the world was released by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) on 22 July.

The song titled 'I am a Nurse [2]' is an uplifting song with vocals recorded by the nurses using their smart phones at the height of CoViD-19.

The lyrics of the song reflects the joyous and challenging realities of nursing. It pays tribute to the global nursing family and their commitment to people they serve, especially during the pandemic this year.

The ICN hopes the song will become the anthem for nurses worldwide. It is now available to download from main music sites such as iTunes, Spotify, and Google Play.

ICN President Annette Kennedy said she hoped the song would be heard everywhere as a reminder of what the world owes to its nurses.

“I am a nurse, is something that all nurses say with great pride, and it is now something they can sing with immense dignity and joy.”

“I hope nurses will take this song to their hearts and sing it in their own languages right around the planet.”

She said the lyrics chime with nurses’ own experiences, but they also speak to anyone who has been a patient, recognising as they do the unique contact that nurses have with their patients, and the often - unforgettable impact they have on the people who receive their care.”

The song was written by ICN staff writer and editor Colin Parish, who trained as a nurse in the UK in the 1970s, and put together by his nephew Daniel Parish, who also played all the instruments and sang the backing vocals. 

Profits from the sales of the song will go to the Florence Nightingale International Foundation, which supports and complements the work and goals of ICN. The Foundation’s signature project is the Girl Child Education Fund, which pays for the education of girls in developing countries whose nurse parents have died.

Last year, Tonga’s singing nurses made a huge impression on the World Health Organisation Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at a welcoming ceremony when he visited the kingdom.

He was so impressed he invited them to perform at the 73rd World Health Assembly this year in Geneva, Switzerland but unfortunately the performance was cancelled due to CoViD-19 travel restrictions.