In a wide-ranging career spanning more than 40 years in occupational health,
Frances Baker has gone from colliery nurse to university lecturer.
Delivering the inaugural Mary Blakeley lecture, she gave a fascinating account
of the development of the occupational health nursing contribution in the
international arena.
Along the way, she pointed out: "We have learnt to scan the Financial
Times as well as the Nursing Times."
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From its first tentative steps onto the international stage in 1958, the
occupational health nursing profession has expanded in stature to such an
extent that European Commissioners are lining up to extend their greetings when
the Federation of Occupational Health Nurses in the European Union (FOHNEU)
holds its annual conference.
As a tireless worker to raise the international profile of occupational
health nursing, whose achievements include the immediate past presidency of
FOHNEU, Baker deserves her share of credit for this happy state of affairs.