Nurses Have a Critical Role in Responding to COVID-19, NAM Says

September 24, 2020 by Alec Stone MA, MPA, Former ONS Director of Government Affairs and Advocacy

Nursing’s role in health equity, public health emergencies, and COVID-19 is a critical issue for updates to its Future of Nursing 2020–2030 (https://nam.edu/publications/the-future-of-nursing-2020-2030/) report study (https://nam.edu/publications/the-future-of-nursing-2020-2030/), the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) said during a webinar on August 20, 2020, that sought (https://nam.edu/event/32356/) public input on nurses’ roles in responding to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

During the webinar, Lisa A. Cooper, MD, MPH, FACP, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity and distinguished professor at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD, discussed strategies (https://nam.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Cooper-slides.pdf) that nurses can use to move from health disparities to health equity, including:

Kristine Qureshi, PhD, RN, FAAN, CEN, PHNA-BC, associate dean for research and global health nursing at University of Hawaii at Manoa, outlined a variety of roles (https://nam.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Qureshi-slides.pdf) that nurses serve in public health emergencies, such as:

Closing out the webinar, Frank Baez, RN, BS, cardiovascular intensive care unit staff nurse at New York University Langone Medical Center in New York City, shared the key lessons (https://nam.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Baez-slides.pdf) that he and his colleagues learned fighting on the frontlines of COVID-19:

The webinar is now live on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMlnaxA9lFE&feature=youtu.be).

Because of the health emergency, NAM delayed releasing (https://nam.edu/future-of-nursing-2020-2030-report-delayed-to-incorporate-information-on-covid-19s-impact-on-the-nursing-field/#:~:text=WASHINGTON%2C%20DC%20(July%2021%2C,be%20released%20in%20Spring%202021.) its 2020 report until spring 2021. As the most downloaded report, Future of Nursing provides information on patient-centered care and the essential role of nurses in quality care. To receive updates about the report and future events, join the Future of Nursing 2020–2030 email list (https://us11.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=1dee17686e06c5e596766b1df&id=b8ba6f1aa1).


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