Nursing Now is a three-year campaign to raise the profile of nursing globally and to enhance the profession’s contribution to people’s health and health systems. In partnership with the International Council of Nurses (ICN), the Burdett Trust in the UK, World Health Organization and others, Nursing Now has described the campaign goals to be achieved by the end of 2020:
- Greater investment in improving education professional development, standards, regulation and employment conditions for nurses;
- Increased and improved dissemination of effective and innovative practice in nursing;
- Greater influence for nurses and midwives on global and national health policy;
- More nurses in leadership positions and more opportunities for development at all levels; and
- More evidence for policy and decision makers about where nursing can have the greatest impact, what is stopping nurses from reaching their full potential and how to address these obstacles.
The campaign launch at the end of February 2018 received an enthusiastic response as events were held in various locations and promoted widely through social media. Having first heard about early ideas for Nursing Now during the ICN Congress in Barcelona (May 2017), I have been following developments with great interest and will continue to do so during the three-year campaign. I was pleased to read an overview of the campaign in the March-April issue of the Canadian Nurse including a profile of Sarah Walji who represents young nurses on the Nursing Now campaign board.
Nursing Now will look for opportunities for policy influence through presenting ideas to special commissions and participating in global health events. An initial opportunity this year is the High-level Commission on Non-Communicable Diseases. The Nursing Now team has been seeking input from nurses in preparing a brief to showcase nursing’s role in promoting health and preventing disease.
What now? Suggestions for involvement include pledging support, joining or setting up a national group, providing case studies and contributing to social media discussions. As a first step, nurses can sign up to receive regular updates.
The campaign has great potential to raise the profile of global and national nursing organizations including the ICN and its member national associations. It will be interesting to track achievements during the next three years to observe its impact and to learn about the most effective strategies for realizing the desired changes. It will be important also to consider any issues or concerns arising from this major initiative. It may be that all the focus on nursing is viewed negatively by other professions and there could be challenges embarking on the campaign in countries where governments have limited interest in a strong health sector. It will be important in all aspects of this initiative to refrain from being inward-looking as the nursing profession increases its collective capacity and policy presence for global health.
Follow on Twitter: @NursingNow2020
Posted by Nora Whyte – April 29, 2018