The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) called to collectively strengthen the nursing workforce on the occasion of celebrating International Nurses Day on May 12.
Under the motto of “without Nurses = without Care” , PAHO called for investing in training, employment and leadership in this field. The discussion and call was further fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, which changed policies and the future of political and technical discussions around the training of human resources for health.
In 2021, WHO approved the Global Strategic Guidance on Nursing and Midwifery 2021-2025, which covers four areas of policy interest: education, jobs, leadership and service delivery. Their recommendations include:
•Train enough midwifery and nursing professionals with the skills to meet the health needs of the population.
•Create jobs, manage migration and recruit and retain these personnel where they are needed most.
•Strengthen nursing and midwifery leadership in health and academic systems.
•Ensure that these staff are supported, respected, protected, motivated and equipped to contribute safely and optimally in their service delivery environments.
“In the Region of the Americas, nurses and midwives play an essential role in achieving health outcomes due to their experience, workforce size, and their reach into remote areas, vulnerable populations, and minority groups. However, challenges such as shortages mainly in remote areas, continuous and increasing migration, unsafe and undignified working conditions, non-competitive salaries and the lack of compliance or professional regulation persist,” PAHO indicated in a statement. release.
Data to take into account
•Investments in the training and employment of nurses are cost-effective.
•Globally, 70% of the health and social workforce are women; Therefore, it is called to empower their leadership to achieve equitable, dignified and decent work for them.
• The Region of the Americas faces a shortage of health workers, even worsened by the pandemic. Investment in training and more jobs will improve their availability.
•Nurses are key to resilient health systems, so work must be done to improve their working conditions and thus have more professionals.
• Educational spaces and fields of practice must be reviewed and regularized to ensure that future nursing professionals are qualified to take on greater responsibilities in the workplace.
• Working conditions must be analyzed and improved to positively impact the hiring and retention of nursing professionals.
• Nursing is an essential professional in health services.
Why is Nurses Day celebrated?
It is commemorated every May 12 to coincide with the date of birth of Florence Nightingale, considered the creator of modern nursing. Nightingale, who was born in 1920, had become well known for her humanitarian work and her crusade for the advancement of public health measures around the world. Among other premises, she assured that all women should receive training to be able to care for a patient and that they should be excellent observers of patients and their environment.
In 1953 Dorothy Sutherland, an official from the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare, proposed to the then US President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, that nurses deserved to have their day, which he refused. Finally, in January 1974, the decision was made to celebrate that day on May 12 as this was the anniversary of Nightingale’s birth.
