National League for Nursing Honors Nurses & Nurse Educators During National Nurses Week
New Public Service Campaign & Dedicated Web Page Promote
the Essential Role Nurse Educators Play in the Public’s Health
Washington, DC — Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as the World Health Organization declares 2020 the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, the National League for Nursing pays tribute to the essential roles of nurses and nurse educators in protecting and advancing the public’s health.
In celebration of National Nurses Week, beginning today, the League unveils a nationwide public service campaign in print, online, radio and television, as well as a dedicated web page at YearOfTheNurse.NLN.org. The campaign also coincides with the 200th birthday in 2020 of Florence Nightingale, the 19th century social reformer known as the founder of modern nursing.
“With demand for their services at an all-time high and a persisting worldwide nursing shortage across all health care settings, nurses are even more valued than normal. This is an ideal time to raise public awareness of the recognition of nurses as the nation’s most trusted professionals,” said NLN President Patricia S. Yoder-Wise, RN, EdD, NEA-BC, ANEF, FAONL, FAAN, Professor and Dean Emerita at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and president of The Wise Group. “This campaign highlights nurses’ strengths as key to the robust public health response mounted against the coronavirus pandemic. The characteristic competence, compassion and sensitivity of nurses, along with the skilled care expected of healers, are more evident than ever, as they have risked personal health and safety to treat patients and communicate with family members unable to be present. Nurses are frequently the primary connection between the inpatient setting and the community.”
NLN CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN, said, “As the shortage of nurses in today’s public health crisis makes clear, nursing education must play a vital role in expanding the ranks of a diverse, outstanding workforce to help meet current and anticipated global health care needs. With this in mind, the National League for Nursing is encouraging qualified nurses to step forward in greater numbers to pursue the advanced degrees and leadership development required to achieve faculty status.”
The League is promoting the benefits of “teaching what you love” in following a career path into nursing education. With demand for nurses and nurse educators expected to remain high, the campaign is both an expression of thanks to nurses at the center of the coronavirus maelstrom and a call to action to facilitate the critical expansion of the nursing workforce through nursing education.
The campaign’s web page components include:
The NLN Leadership Pledge, which allows nurse educators to show they promote excellence in nursing education to build a strong and diverse nursing workforce that advances the health of our nation and the global community
Shareable social media icons that identify them as future or current nurse educators and demonstrate their support for the National League for Nursing and the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife
Donation options to Honor a Nurse or Leave a Legacy benefiting the NLN Foundation for Nursing Education, which awards annual scholarships and research grants to master’s and doctoral candidates in nursing education, as well as provides support for professional development programs and initiatives
Benefits of a career in nursing education include:
Fulfillment— Taking pride in encouraging students and sharing in their accomplishments
Intellectual stimulation— Keeping up with the latest strategies and methodologies in curricula, teaching, learning and assessment
Research— Investigation and publication of scholarship to advance the science of nursing education
Flexibility— In work schedules and teaching environments, including online instruction made possible through new technologies
Impact— Inspiring the next generation of nurses and shaping educational and health care policies
Competitive Pay — The U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics lists median pay for nurse educators at more than $73,400
Dedicated to excellence in nursing, the National League for Nursing is the premier organization for nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education. The NLN offers professional development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives to its 40,000 individual and 1,200 institutional members, comprising nursing education programs across the spectrum of higher education and health care organizations. Learn more at NLN.org
