I’m Midaz, a nursing assistant by day, and a Sydney drag queen by night. Recently, I had the opportunity to join the NSWNMA float for the Mardi Gras parade.
This was my second year of doing so, and it was amazing. It was a night filled with fun, glitter, sparkles, dancing and love!
And maybe some sore feet after all the walking, but nothing a group of nurses and midwives couldn’t handle. This year, the Mardi Gras theme was “Our Future”. Our float featured what we want the future of nursing to be. We marched under the banner “A strong voice for a better future”.
A future of safe health care for all. A future of safe staffing ratios, for nurse and patient safety. A future of inclusivity and equal health care to all, regardless of patient gender, race or sexual orientation. As nurses, midwives and healthcare workers, not only are we a very diverse group, but we also tend to everyone who happens to find themselves under our care.
But there’s still more to be done to break the stigma, whether it’s stigma amidst our own teams, or stigma and prejudice towards our patients. Walking down Oxford Street, it was amazing and inspiring to see LGBTQIA+ nurses and midwives come together, and to have the support and loud cheers from the crowd, all for our future. A future for an inclusive, accessible, and quality health system for all. Midaz, AiN