Anne Armstrong

From her early days of studying a postgraduate diploma in Managment studies at Glasgow Caledonian to holding senior leadership roles as both an executive and non-executive director, Anne Armstrong has built an inspiring legacy in healthcare. She now serves as the Interim Chief Nursing Officer for the Scottish Government, where she oversees the work of over 73,000 nurses across Scotland. In addition to her leadership responsibilities, she provides evidence-based advice to ministers to help shape policies that benefit the health and wellbeing of the nation.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Anne about her remarkable career and contributions to the field of nursing as well as her hopes for its future.

Q) What do you love about what you do?

A) “I'm absolutely honoured to be doing what I'm doing. I’ve always had a vision that I wanted to do my best work so it's a huge honour.”

“I love the fact that every day is different. That we're really able to think about the issues the country has around accessing health care, ensuring that it's the most up-to-date and evidence-based, and to then work with real experts in the field and in frontline universities right across the country to look at what the solutions might be, so that we are able then to modernise services, and work with our NHS boards and third and independent sectors, to deliver and develop better services, better outcomes for people.”

“I love getting out and about and speaking to other nurses and hearing what's going on. It's really important that I hear it warts-and-all, so that I'm able then to think about, ‘What does that mean for policy? How may I influence change, so I can make things better?’”

Q) Is there a particular piece of advice that has helped you through your career?

A) “One piece of advice I picked up in the past from the director general for health and social care at the time, was, “When you're trying to influence and tell a story, make sure that you've got the evidence that underpins it. Otherwise, it's just an opinion, isn’t it? And everybody's got one of those.”

“That’s really stuck with me throughout my career. If we want to influence others, we need to be able to think clearly and tell a compelling story. But to make that story real, it must be supported by facts—something that makes it both attractive and accurate. So in short, underpin your opinion with evidence.”

There's quite a clear connection between nursing and Glasgow Caledonian’s mission of serving the Common Good. What does that mission mean to you and why is it important to instil in students?

“I think it's essential, particularly in health and care, that we all try to do our best every single day because what we do matters.”

“It matters to the people that we're seeing and treating, it matters to their family, it matters to their friends, and it matters to us.”

“It's important that we deliver our best work and I think regardless of where you're working, whether you're on the front line, whether you're in government doing my role, you should always ensure that you want to make a difference.”

Anne’s vision for the future of nursing centres on ensuring the profession continues to evolve by embracing advancements such as artificial intelligence and adapting to major events such as the impact of COVID-19. She believes it's essential for nurses to be equipped and prepared for these changes.

“Ensuring that we’re always horizon-scanning, we’re looking at what's coming over that hill and being absolutely ready for it so that our workforce of the future is ready for it is crucial to the future of nursing.”

In addition, she hopes the future of nursing will focus on improving the health and wellbeing of the nation, emphasising the vital role of nurses in population health.

“It’s really important that the 73,000 nurses across the country are playing their part in it, that they see population health as part of their role, because what a difference we could make.”