The EFN General Secretary, Paul De Raeve, met the Portuguese nursing teachers to discuss the modernised Directive 2005/36/EC (DIR36), on 6 June 2013, in Santarém, Portugal, in a meeting organised by the Ordem dos Enfermeiros (a member of EFN). With great confidence the Portuguese educators confirmed the modernised version of the Directive is a major step forward to strengthen “fitness for practice” to deliver safe and high quality services in nursing care with the empowerment of EU citizens and patients, as well as for the future opportunities to design further the profession within the on-going health system reform. In Portugal, primary care and public health are areas of development and Paul De Raeve made it very clear that they need to apply for EU Social Cohesion Funds (SCF)! Malta and Poland have done so, why not the Portuguese nurses, especially in times of austerity! Next to the DIR36 and SCF, nursing research excellence was discussed. It is clear that the Portuguese Order will build the research capacity and that collaboration and alliance building is the only way to be successful in Horizon 2020! The challenges for nurses and nursing in Portugal are not very different from any of the other EU Member States. The only difference is the united voice of nurses in Portugal and the ambition to strengthen it. Nursing teachers had no network in Portugal, now they have; nursing researchers had no united voice, from now on they will have it. The Portuguese Order is The Voice of all Nurses, represented in EFN! And we all know that the EFN is only strong when its members are strong. Finally, the meeting showed a motivated, strong, committed and extremely friendly workforce willing to change, implement and being the driver of an EU Single Market.
