The youngest recipient of the Nightingale Medal in China

5月12日下午，红十字国际委员会宣布2023年第49届弗洛伦斯·南丁格尔奖章的获奖者名单，22个国家的37名护理人员获此殊荣，其中7名来自中国。46岁的蒋艳入选，她也是目前中国最年轻的南丁格尔奖章获得者。

On the afternoon of May 12th, the International Committee of the Red Cross announced the list of winners for the 49th Florence Nightingale Medal in 2023. A total of 37 nursing personnel from 22 countries were honored, including 7 from China. Among them was Jiang Yan, a 46-year-old nurse, who became the youngest recipient of the Nightingale Medal in China.

南丁格尔奖章是对“具有非凡的勇气和献身精神，致力于救护伤病员、残疾人或战争与灾害的受害者”或“在公共卫生或护理教育方面做出模范工作或富于首创精神”的护理人士的肯定。

The Nightingale Medal is awarded to nursing professionals who have displayed exceptional courage, devotion, and pioneering spirit in providing care to the sick, injured, disabled, or those affected by war, disaster, or public health crises. It recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of nursing or nursing education and have demonstrated outstanding humanitarian efforts.

从中专到博士，“护理是专业和人文的完美结合”

选择当护士，蒋艳直言：“一半是源于从小的经历。”儿时的蒋艳常生病。和害怕打针吃药的小朋友不同，她不抗拒。“我知道打针打完、药用上，症状就会缓解，所以我都是自己吃药。”

Jiang Yan's decision to become a nurse was partly influenced by her childhood experiences. As a child, she often fell ill. Unlike other children,she did not resistinjections ormedication. "I knew that taking medication and receiving injections would alleviate the symptoms, so I always took care of myself."

1992年，读中专的蒋艳意识到，“护理专业在发展，学习到更多的知识，就能帮助到更多的患者。”

In 1992, Jiang, who was studying at a vocational school, realized that "the nursing profession was developing, and by acquiring more knowledge, I could help more patients."

凭着“一股劲”，她在1995年进入泸州医学院(现西南医科大学)附属医院工作，一边工作一边学习。2000年9月，她考入四川大学华西医学中心护理专业本科。

Driven by determination, she was admitted intothe affiliated hospital of Luzhou Medical College (now Southwest Medical University) in 1995. In September 2000, she was admitted to Sichuan University's West China Medical Center to pursue a bachelor's degree in nursing.

2002年9月，蒋艳考入北京协和医学院。2014年，她到美国明尼苏达护理学院进行为期一年访学，2015年，她获得了四川大学华西护理学博士学位。

In September 2002, Jiang Yan was admitted to Peking Union Medical College. In 2014, she conducted a one-year academic visit at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing in the United States, and in 2015, she obtained a Ph.D. in nursing from West China Nursing School, Sichuan University.

2020年8月蒋艳当选为美国护理科学院院士、也是西南地区第一位获此殊荣的护理专家。

In August 2020, Jiang was elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, becoming the first nursing expert in the southwestern region of China to receive this honor.

2009年，蒋艳调入华西医院担任神经综合病房护士长。

In 2009, Jiang Yan was transferred to West China Hospital as the head nurse of the neurology comprehensive ward.

她时常叮嘱护士“要像对待家人一样对待病患”。在她看来，护士光专业技术高超是远远不够。“我们希望成为患者最值得信赖的专业照护团队，护理专业就应该是专业和人文的完美结合。”

She often advises nurses to "treat patients as if they were family." In her view, being a highly skilled nursing professional is not enough. "We hope to be the most trustworthy professional care team for patients. Nursing should be a perfect combination of professionalism and humanity."

逆流而上远赴非洲应对疫情

2020年，新冠疫情席卷而来。蒋艳主动请缨，在4月中旬作为第一批中国政府援非洲抗疫专家组12名成员之一，远赴非洲的埃塞俄比亚、吉布提协助开展疫情防控工作。前者平均海拔3000多米，后者干旱少雨，白天最高温度46℃，两国水设施和水资源极度匮又乏，几乎没有口罩生产企业。

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world. In mid-April, Jiang Yan volunteered to becomeone of the 12 members of the first Chinese government medical team to assist in epidemic prevention and control in Africa, specifically in Ethiopia and Djibouti. The former has an average altitude of over 3,000 meters, while the latter is arid with little rainfall and daytime temperatures reaching up to 46 degrees Celsius. Both countries face severe shortages of water facilities and resources and have almost no mask manufacturing enterprises.

蒋艳因地制宜，鼓励当地医护人员就地取材，利用透明塑料袋等物资自制防护用品，发动本土企业生产防护物资，还为埃塞俄比亚、吉布提等周边国家170多家医疗机构的医护人员详细讲解个人防护实施要点。

Jiangadaptedto the local conditionsand encouraged local medical personnel to make use of available resources such as transparent plastic bags to create protective equipment. She also mobilized local enterprises to produce protective materials and provided detailed explanations on personal protective measures to medical staff in over 170 medical institutions in Ethiopia, Djibouti, and neighboring countries.

离开埃塞俄比亚和吉布提时，她在明信片上写下“专业、精业、敬业是全球通用语言”，寄回成都。

Before leaving Ethiopia and Djibouti, she wrote a postcardand sent it back to Chengdu.On the postcard she wrote "professionalism, dedication, and excellence are the universal language worldwide."

“让中国护理学科走到世界前沿”

为让四川护理走向世界前沿，未来蒋艳打算探索精准护理服务，如探索伤口护理技术、肠内营养护理技术等更多创新护理模式，发挥护理专业更多主观能动性，让更多人看到四川护士乃至中国护士的多面性、专业性，证明护士不是只会打针输液。

To propel nursing in Sichuan to the forefront of the world, Jiang plans to explore precise nursing services, such as wound care techniques and enteral nutrition care techniques, and promote more innovative nursing models. She aims to unleash the subjective initiative of nursing professionals, allowing more people to see the versatility and professionalism of nurses from Sichuan and China, and prove that nurses are not limited to administering injections and infusions.

“未来，我将最大限度推动护理专业发展，为护理专业、为患者做更多，让中国护理学科走到世界前沿。”蒋艳说。

"In the future, I will maximize efforts to promote the development of the nursing profession and contribute more to patients," said Jiang.