Student and early career nurses unite to shape the future of nursing
The ICN Alliance of Student and Early Career Nurses (ICN SECN Alliance) held its first webinar ahead of International Nurses Day 2026, bringing together emerging nursing leaders from around the world under the theme: Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered nurses save lives.
Opening the session, Erica Burton, ICN Senior Policy Adviser, welcomed participants and highlighted the significance of the ICN SECN Alliance as a global platform for student and early career nurses. She emphasized that young nurses are not only the future of the profession, but are already shaping nursing policy, practice and advocacy today.
David Stewart, ICN Director of Nursing Policy and Practice, introduced the forthcoming International Nurses Day 2026 report, Empowered Nurses Save Lives, outlining the seven “powers of nursing” and the evidence behind, investing in nurses. He stressed that empowering nurses means addressing workforce shortages, improving retention, enabling nurses to work to their full scope, and recognizing nursing as a major driver of health, social and economic progress.
The webinar then featured three ICN SECN Alliance Representatives, each reflecting on one of the powers of nursing.
Idah Msimuko, ICN SECN Alliance Representative for the National Organization of Nurses, spoke about the power of numbers. She shared how student nurses in Malawi organized collectively during a scholarship crisis, raising funds and advocating with decision-makers to help fellow students remain in education. Her message was clear: when nurses act together, a whisper becomes a movement.
Arnold Mokshit, ICN SECN Alliance Representative for the Indian Nursing Council, explored the power of the professional. He described how nursing education, regulation, registration and competency-based training strengthen professional identity and improve patient outcomes. He highlighted the importance of preparing students and early career nurses not only to enter the profession, but to lead it.
Miranda Garcia Zeliz, ICN SECN Alliance Representative for the Argentine Federation of Nursing, reflected on the power of peace. She described nurses as builders of trust, stability and social cohesion, particularly in communities affected by exclusion, crisis or climate emergencies. Drawing on examples from Argentina, she showed how nurses and students can bridge cultural divides, support vulnerable communities and help sustain health services under pressure.
Closing the webinar, Ali Karout, Chair of the session and member of the ICN SECN Alliance Steering Committee, reflected that the examples from Malawi, India and Argentina were not isolated national stories, but blueprints for action. Across continents, student and early career nurses are organizing, leading and demonstrating the power of nursing in practice.
The session concluded with a call for participants to take the messages back to their countries, schools, workplaces and national nursing associations, and to ensure that student and early career nurses are central to International Nurses Day 2026 activities.