Opinion  

Hundreds of nurses have already received a starter pack with T-shirt, pedometer and health diary, hundreds more have visited our campaign webpage, and we are starting to hear from those who have used the campaign as the impetus to make changes.

'I wear my T-shirt with pride at my weekly diet/exercise class and have lost nearly a stone' wrote one nurse. In the spirit of partnership that characterises community nurses, another had passed on her starter pack to her husband, who uses the diary 'as he is trying to reduce his blood pressure and keeps a record of his food intake in this.'

We have also had some useful feedback on the campaign. One user of the health diary pointed out that the sample healthy eating recipes were over-dependent on beef, and did not reflect the diversity of Britain's communities. So we will soon publish more varied recipes on the website.

Nursing No 1 is not a 'one-off' campaign. We intend to continue to support nurses in primary care with their personal wellbeing as well as their professional development.

The next phase of the campaign is about mental health - specifically, about stress at work and coping mechanisms. We have been surveying nurses about this issue, but we are keen to hear from more people on this subject. The findings will show what the most important issues are, and guide us in the decision about what kind of practical advice and support we should offer.

If any readers of Independent Nurse want to complete the Nursing No 1 stress questionnaire, they can find it on our website at www.qni.org.uk, following links to the Nursing No 1 pages.

We know that many nurses feel that they are under a lot of pressure. Although some stress can make a job stimulating and interesting, it should not make a person feel out of control or physically ill. We hope this phase of our campaign will help nurses to find ways to cope with work-related stress, and remind employers of the actions they can take to care for staff through difficult times.

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- Rosemary Cook, director, Queen's Nursing Institute.