UPDATE: This competition is open until 31 March 2010. You still have time! :-)

Nurse Uncut is looking for a creative depiction of a world without nurses. Get your creative thinking caps on and show us by way of a photo, artwork, collage, illustration or scrapbook layout of what a world without nurses would look like.

All of us without exception have experienced illness, pregnancy or a health scare. You could say that nothing has happened to you but think about someone we love dearly had to go to a hospital to be treated by doctors. Someone we love had to go to a nursing home. Someone we love had to give birth.

When confined in the hospital for an illness, accident, pregnancy or placed in a nursing home, it is not the doctors who looks after our every need. The nurses are the one who look after the patients. The nurses are the ones who look after mothers giving birth. The nurses are the ones who look after us. The nurses are the one who look after our loved ones.

Some of us are born to look after people. Some us have always wanted to be nurses. It's a noble profession. It's a profession that I believe is underestimated by those who don't understand what it takes to care for others.

Now, imagine a world without nurses. Imagine a world with no one to look after us when we're ill, or have an accident, or have given birth or when we're too old to look after ourselves.

Imagine a world where your chosen profession is not available. Imagine a world without nurses.

What you can win:

The lucky winner will win a Gourmet Escape Package for 4 adults (Two 1-bedroom suite or One 2-bedroom suite) at Amarna Resort. The package includes 2 nights' accommodation, a 3-course In Suite Chef Dining Experience and 4 half-hour massages taken in the comfort of your suite.

Package value: $2,100. The prize may not be converted to cash.

Judging:

1. Criteria for judging include: concept and originality, appeal and execution.
2. Submissions will be judged by the community and the Nurse Uncut Judging Panel composed of representatives from the site and NSWNA.
3. The total positive comments (on Flickr) from the community for each submission will form 50% of the votes.
4. The other 50% will come from representatives of Nurse Uncut and NSWNA.

Submitting Entries:

1. You can submit your entry at Nurse Uncut's Flickr Pool. Please tag your submission with #worldwithoutnurses
2. To be able to submit to Nurse Uncut's Flickr Pool, you must have a Flickr account. Opening an account on Flickr is easy. If you have a Yahoo email address, you can use your email address to open an account. To sign-up on Flickr, visit their website: Flickr.
3. If for some reason you can't open an account on Flickr or can't upload onto our Flickr pool, you can also submit your entries to admin@nurseuncut.com.au.

What you can submit:

1. We will accept any visual representation of your entry by way of photos, artwork, collage, illustration or scrapbook layout. The file type you submit must be saved either as a .jpg, non-animated GIFs, .png
2. Your entry must be captured in a single page.
3. Your entry must be accompanied with a title.
4. Journalling (your own words, quotes or poems) and craft embellishments are acceptable. Be as creative as you want to be!
5. The use of photo editing tools such as Photoshop or Illustrator are acceptable.
6. Submissions depicting nudity, racism will not be accepted.
7. If you are using images of a person(s) in your entry, please ensure that you have the legal right and permission to use them.
8. Only one entry per person please. No submissions from organisations will be accepted. We will only accept entries from individuals.

Who can join:

1. The contest will run from today, 11 September till 16 October, Friday. The contest will close at 11.59pm (Sydney time) of 16 October, Friday.
2. The contest is open to any resident in Australia aged 15 years and over.
3. The winner will be announced on 27 October, Tuesday.
4. If you win the contest, travel to avail of the package at Amarna Resort will not be paid for by Nurse Uncut or our sponsor.

Note: When you submit your entry, you also allow Nurse Uncut to use your submission for any promotional activities that we may have. If and when we use your photos, we will credit you as the source.

Good luck!

Credit: Big thanks to the TV Ad by California Nurses Association for providing us the inspiration to run this contest.