Why Now?
More than ever before, we are all impacted by the health of everyone else around the world. Yet, most critical global health issues are under-reported, under-valued and poorly understood. Although nurses and many others have important knowledge, experience and wisdom, we have yet to effectively share what we know with the general public — with the global community.
Nurses and midwives are the world’s largest healthcare workforce — 80% of healthcare delivery globally. The International Council of Nurses (ICN) — a federation of national nursing associations from 132 out of 193 UN Member States — counts the numbers of nurses as at least 22 million strong. Nurses are consistently named the most trusted of professionals. What better voices to collectively call for what needs to happen for the sake of health at local, regional and global levels?
We can focus our collective callings — for the sake of 21st century health care and for related social, ecological and human rights issues. While we continue the practices we have already established — we can also be innovative and create new practice arenas. We can model our global advocacy — the fulfillment and satisfaction of being nurses — of bringing health and healing to our world. Nightingale passed this vision on to us — to remember who we are, what we can do, who we care for and why — and then, to share this vision, as she did, with our world.
The above photo is an example. It features Mary Philomena Okello, a clinical nursing officer at Lira Regional Referral Hospital in Lira, Uganda. She not only cares for patients in the hospital, but she rides her motorcycle to 'the field' to make home visits. "I love palliative care," she says. "In palliative care there is no pretense. You tell the truth to the patient and their families. It is not easy to know that you’re dying. I can speak the truth and give hope and prepare them to die in a peaceful way." According to 'Philo,' she is the only palliative care nurse in the entire district. "Many people are dying without palliative care," she explains. "They are dying in pain. I need more people trained." © 2009 Carol Bales/IntraHealth International, Courtesy of Photoshare: ID: 8896-1.
More than ever before, we are all impacted by the health of everyone else around the world. Yet, most critical global health issues are under-reported, under-valued and poorly understood. Although nurses and many others have important knowledge, experience and wisdom, we have yet to effectively share what we know with the general public — with the global community.
Nurses and midwives are the world’s largest healthcare workforce — 80% of healthcare delivery globally. The International Council of Nurses (ICN) — a federation of national nursing associations from 132 out of 193 UN Member States — counts the numbers of nurses as at least 22 million strong. Nurses are consistently named the most trusted of professionals. What better voices to collectively call for what needs to happen for the sake of health at local, regional and global levels?
We can focus our collective callings — for the sake of 21st century health care and for related social, ecological and human rights issues. While we continue the practices we have already established — we can also be innovative and create new practice arenas. We can model our global advocacy — the fulfillment and satisfaction of being nurses — of bringing health and healing to our world. Nightingale passed this vision on to us — to remember who we are, what we can do, who we care for and why — and then, to share this vision, as she did, with our world.
The above photo is an example. It features Mary Philomena Okello, a clinical nursing officer at Lira Regional Referral Hospital in Lira, Uganda. She not only cares for patients in the hospital, but she rides her motorcycle to 'the field' to make home visits. "I love palliative care," she says. "In palliative care there is no pretense. You tell the truth to the patient and their families. It is not easy to know that you’re dying. I can speak the truth and give hope and prepare them to die in a peaceful way." According to 'Philo,' she is the only palliative care nurse in the entire district. "Many people are dying without palliative care," she explains. "They are dying in pain. I need more people trained." © 2009 Carol Bales/IntraHealth International, Courtesy of Photoshare: ID: 8896-1.
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'Daring To Tell Our Stories to the World' — NIGH's Contribution to International Nurses Week in 2013 Learn more about this video and appreciate all the related photographers who contributed their work to K4 Photoshare. |