“Nursing the World to Health” proves to be a prophetic theme in 2020
The theme for this year’s National Nursing Week campaign is “A Voice to Lead – Nursing the World to Health.” Although this theme was conceived long before anyone knew about the COVID-19 crisis, it has never been truer that health care professionals are nursing the world to health.
The 2020 campaign theme was developed by the International Council of Nurses (ICN). Based out of Geneva, Switzerland, the organization represents the more than 20 million nurses worldwide. In 1971, the ICN designated May 12 as International Nurses Day. This date falls on the birthday of historical figure Florence Nightingale, who is known as a statistician and the founder of modern nursing.
Registered nurse Claire Betker is president of the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA). Representing approximately 430,000 regulated nursing professionals, the CNA speaks on behalf of the Canadian nursing profession and a federation of 11 provincial and territorial professional nurses’ associations. Betker herself is based out of Winnipeg and right now her team is “fully virtual.”
“COVID-19 is having a shocking global impact. The choice of the theme ‘Nursing the World to Health’ is portent given it was chosen before there was even a whisper of a pandemic. COVID-19 is a marathon that will be impacting global health care for the long haul. The role of nurses around the world, and their sacrifices and contributions, are even more significant now,” said Betker.
Over the past 43 years, Betker has focused her own nursing career on community health. She has a Master of Nursing degree from the University of Calgary and a PHD in nursing from the University of Saskatchewan. Betker’s role with the CNA is a volunteer position that includes a two-year term as president-elect and a second two years as president. This is her second and final year as president and she describes her CNA experience as “an unbelievable privilege.”
Fittingly, it was Florence Nightingale who first inspired Betker to become a nurse. Betker believes that her childhood fascination with a How and Why Wonder Book about Nightingale’s life triggered her future career path. How and Why were a series of illustrated books published in the 1960s and 1970s, designed to teach science and history to children and tweens.
“Reading the How and Why book about Florence Nightingale got me thinking that’s what I want to do. Nightingale was a statistician and she saw the opportunity for nurses to be knowledge workers and to influence public policy. And, she was born 200 years ago. Considering that I made the choice to become a nurse at the age of 18, it was a great choice,” said Betker.
When Betker is asked what motivates Canadian nurses to stay on the frontlines and risk their lives to provide patient care during this deadly pandemic, Betker is quick to respond, “This is what we do. Caring for patients in difficult situations is not new for nurses.”
Betker points out that nurses contribute in all health care settings during the pandemic and not just ICUS. “Nurses are involved in public health, testing, case tracing and assessing where we are on the curve.
COVID-19 has proven itself to be unpredictable in that patients can get really sick, really fast. Nurses are curious and we want to use our knowledge and data skills to contribute during this extremely difficult situation.”
What are some of the stories of bravery that Betker has heard? “Originally, I was hearing worrying stories about shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) and inconsistent guidance on PPE usage. There has been a lot of progress over the past few weeks on this issue.”
Positive stories of the bravery of Canadian nurses include emergency practicing licensure for thousands of non-practicing and retired nursing professionals. Betker points out that this includes academics that usually teach nursing returning to the health care frontlines.
“Canadian nurses, and Canadian nursing, are held in high regard around the world. Our regulation of the profession, the quality of our education, our unions and our specialty areas are something we can be proud of,” observed Betker.
How can the Canadian public support the nursing profession during COVID-19? Betker encourages
people to stay informed through reliable sources such as the World Health Organization at
www.who.int or the Public Health Agency of Canada at www.canada.ca/en/public-health.html. She also suggests that every Canadian does their part through social isolation, proper cough etiquette and getting tested if you have COVID-19 symptoms.
The CNA has also created a dedicated campaign for members of the Canadian public who wish to express their gratitude to nurses through a handwritten note, a drawing or a social media post. More information about the CNA’S Thank a Nurse campaign can be found at www.cna-aiic.ca/ en/coronavirus-disease/ thank-a-nurse.
COVID-19 is a marathon that will be impacting global health care for the long haul. The role of nurses around the world, and their sacrifices and contributions, are even more significant now. - Claire Betker, Canadian Nurses Association president