The UNC School of Nursing co-hosted a Nursing Now USA strategy and action meeting on Wednesday, August 1. The meeting was held in partnership with the University of Washington School of Nursing and the American Nurses Association.
Nursing Now is a three-year global campaign launched in 2018 in collaboration with the International Council of Nurses and the World Health Organization with the intent of raising the profile and status of nurses worldwide. This social movement is based on the Triple Impact report, which concluded that increasing the number of nurses and developing the nursing workforce will improve health, promote gender equality, and support economic growth.
Nursing Now USA represents the collaborative leadership of The American Nurses Association, the United States Public Health Service Chief Nurse, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Nursing, the University of Washington School of Nursing, and key groups across the US who have committed to recognizing the contributions of nurses across the United States in alignment with the goals of the Nursing Now Global. Nursing Now USA partners with nurses, national nursing organizations and state chapters of nursing organizations throughout the country, schools of nursing across the country, health care partners, government officials, corporations, foundations, and media to elevate the transformative role that nurses play in the health and well-being of US populations.
The vision of Nursing Now USA is Nurses Lead America to Health.Achievement of this vision requires that the mission of Nursing Now USA focus on educating consumers, families and communities on how nurses affect their health and well-being, and ensure nurses are positioned to drive changes that will improve health for all people.
Two priorities through which US nurses lead the country to health are:
- Promote Innovation: Nurses are fully engaged in providing innovative solutions through research, education, and care delivery that bring a return on investments in health.
- Lead and Develop Policy: Nurses will own their vital role in influencing and creating public policies that promote and protect the health of all and advocate for conditions that support safe and healthy communities.
This meeting was held to merge these priorities, to bring focus to the Nightingale Challenge in the US, to coalesce efforts to address the critical need for nurse leaders and to drive toward innovative nurse leader development in the US.
“Nursing Now USA promises to be a powerful catalyst to create a greater nursing leadership focus here at home, and a force through which we can engage powerful global partners,” explained Dean Peragallo Montano. “Nursing Now — at the global and national levels — does nothing less than call us all — individually and in the collective — to act on behalf of the profession and the populations we serve.”
Approximately 50 nurse leaders attended the meeting, and the agenda included remarks from UNC School of Nursing Dean Nena Peragallo Montano, UW School of Nursing Dean Azita Emami, and American Nurses Association President Ernie Grant; several panels; and strategic small group discussions.
To learn more about Nursing Now USA and how you can get involved, click here.