The day was a chance to celebrate nurses and their ­contribution to the health of society with this year’s theme Nurses: A Force for Change.

Maitland Hospital operations manager Bernadette Bilney said it was important to recognise the work nurses did.

“It’s a chance to celebrate the good work and the very hard work nurses do,” she said.

“Nurses have to be very dedicated and show a lot of commitment and caring to their patients.

“They work very hard and work shift work and long hours.”

Mrs Bilney said it took a special kind of person to become a nurse.

“Nurses are often working with people who are very sick,” she said.

“They need to show a lot of compassion and you ­definitely need to be suited to the profession.

“It can get quite stressful, so you definitely need that sort of personality.”

Mrs Bilney said attracting a new generation of young nurses to the job was one of the challenges that faced the profession.