Pat Cullen

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]

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]

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.
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