Pat Cullen

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Patricia Yvonne Cullen (born 1965) [1] [2] is a Northern Irish nurse and trade unionist. Since July 2021, she has been General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing. [3]

Contents

Early life

Cullen was born in Carrickmore, County Tyrone and was the youngest of seven children. [4] Her sister had a learning disability which prompted her study mental health nursing. [5]

Career

Cullen worked as a community nurse in west Belfast during the Troubles. She later became a registered psychotherapist. [6] She went on to hold roles at the Public Health Agency and the Health and Social Care Board, before joining the Royal College of Nursing in 2016. [7] In May 2019, she became director of the Northern Ireland Board of the RCN. [8] She started acting as General Secretary and Chief Executive in April 2021, and was appointed as interim General Secretary and Chief Executive of the national RCN in July 2021. [9]

In late 2022, she led the National Health Service strikes in which English and Welsh nurses went on strike for the first time in the nursing union's 106-year history. [10] In April 2023, her union announced a strike on May bank holiday weekend (30 April to 2 May) after RCN members rejected the pay offer. [11]

In 2023, Cullen was described by the New Statesman as ”one of the UKs most prominent Trade Union leaders”, placing number fifteen in their list of the most powerful left-wing figures of the year, above many elected politicians. [12]

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References

  1. ↑ "Search the register - The Nursing and Midwifery Council". www.nmc.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
  2. ↑ "Error | Royal College of Nursing". The Royal College of Nursing. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
  3. ↑ "Pat Cullen: The Tyrone woman leading nurses' strike". 2022-12-20 – via RTÉ.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ↑ Campbell, Denis (9 December 2022). "Nurses' union leader Pat Cullen: 'I follow through on what I believe in'". The Guardian . Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  5. ↑ Campbell, Denis (2022-12-09). "Nurses' union leader Pat Cullen: 'I follow through on what I believe in'". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2023-10-06.
  6. ↑ "Who is RCN chief and former nurse Pat Cullen?". The Independent. 2022-12-20. Retrieved 2023-10-06.
  7. ↑ Coyle, Conor (2022-12-15). "Meet the NI woman at the head of the Royal College of Nursing". BelfastLive. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
  8. ↑ Kirby, Jane (6 October 2022). "Nurses' strike ballot: Who is Pat Cullen?". Belfast Telegraph . Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  9. ↑ "Executive Team | Royal College of Nursing". The Royal College of Nursing. Retrieved 2021-10-14.
  10. ↑ "Pat Cullen: Who is the RCN nursing union boss leading strikes?". BBC News. 2022-12-22. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
  11. ↑ "RCN nurses to strike on May bank holiday in England as pay offer rejected". BBC News. 2023-04-14. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  12. ↑ Statesman, New (2023-05-17). "The New Statesman's left power list". New Statesman. Retrieved 2023-12-13.
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