Janet Davies takes over from Peter Carter as chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing today.
In her first blog post as chief executive Ms Davies said that 'nursing is the best profession in the world to be in – our work is incredibly important, and also fantastically rewarding.'
She said that her views on nursing hasn't changed since she began as a ward nurse in Manchester and is looking forward to engaging in campaigns and meeting more RCN members as the RCN chief executive.
Her duties will begin this week by visiting nurses in the South West but will then continue travelling the UK over the next few months.
Previous chief executive Mr Carter announced his resignation in February after eight years in the profession and Ms Davies was announced as his successor in June. Ms Davies previously worked as the RCN's director of nursing and service delivery. She has been a director of the RCN for the past nine years, and was the chief executive of the Mersey Regional Ambulance Service prior to joining the RCN.
Mr Carter has gone on to work as a nursing consultant.