Jane Salvage
I'm one of a small group of Newnham graduates who subsequently trained as nurses. It turned out to be a great decision. My career has taken me from nursing in the East End of London to heading up nursing and midwifery programmes at the World Health Organization. I’ve worked on health projects in many lands - including mental health in Mongolia, post-war reconstruction in Bosnia, and improving nursing education in Iraqi Kurdistan. As an independent consultant I run strategic leadership programmes to help nurses and midwives influence policy at national and international levels - how to get to the top table and be influential when you’re there. Nursing skills and knowledge are also endlessly useful in many other ways, not only helping family and friends in health crises, but also - as I found during the Covid-19 pandemic - running your local food bank.
My Newnham experiences remain a golden thread running through my life. I graduated in English, and cut my political teeth as JCR President. Writing about nursing has been a major career strand - my first book was The Politics of Nursing (1985), urging nurses to get out from under. Now my literary, art historical, feminist and nursing interests have come together in my new book about the forgotten midwives at Jesus’ nativity.
If you're thinking of making an exciting and meaningful contribution to global health and international development, considering a career in nursing or midwifery, or wondering about the nativity midwives, do contact me!
