When the World Health Organization designated 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife, the intent was to highlight the ability of nurses and midwives to transform healthcare around the world. Additionally, the celebrations were set to honor the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth on May 12th. (WHO, n.d.) Early in the year - everything changed.
Little did the modern world know how very critical nurses and all healthcare workers are until experiencing the impact of the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus and the disease called COVID-19. Never before has the knowledge, commitment and sacrifice of healthcare heroes been so evident. Inside hospitals, long-term care facilities, clinics and homes around the world, nurses and the healthcare teams are learning more about the new disease every day, testing and tracing patients, collecting data, observing trends, trying to flatten the disease curve, educating the public and providing the care for people fighting for their lives.
When Florence Nightingale (born May 12, 1820; died August 13, 1910) was sent to care for British soldiers during the Crimean War in 1854, she and her trained nursing team found the mayhem of war which included the wounded soldiers: More importantly, they observed the lack of sanitary sewers, ventilation and other needed medicine and equipment. Nightingale immediately set into place the foundation of hospital hygiene and sanitation. She began the use of statistical data to justify those actions she suggested. Infection rates declined. Hospital designs changed. The field of nursing changed. (https://www.biography.com/news/florence-nightingale-hygiene-handwashing)
The more things change - the more they stay the same.
Wash your hands often.
Cover your cough and sneezes.
Avoid close contact.
Stay home if you're sick.
Clean and disinfect.
Those statements have been ingrained into the public's thinking over and over in the last eight weeks. It brings back Nightingale's findings from 1854. Crowded conditions can add to the infection rates. The lack of sanitation and poor hygiene will spread the disease. "Fresh air" is critical for the healing of all. Today, we are back to basics to fight the dreaded COVID-19 disease.
Florence Nightingale was hailed as a hero. For centuries, nurses have impacted lives in meaningful and important ways. Nurses are leaders. Nurses are critical to the success of interprofessional healthcare teams. Nurses are collaborators. Nurses are innovators. Nurses are the caregivers.
Today - more than ever - nurses are heroes.
New Board Members/Positions Announced
The Iowa Board of Nursing consists of a seven-member board of individuals appointed by the governor. For the term May 1, 2020 through April 30, 2021, the board members are as follows:
Mark G. Odden, BSN, MBA, CRNA, ARNP Chairperson Representing Nursing Practice Term ends 2022
Kathryn Dolter, RN, PhD Vice Chairperson Representing Nursing Education Term ends 2021
Nancy Kramer, EdD, ARNP, CPNP, CNE Representing Nursing Education Term ends 2022
Stephanie Carr, RN Representing Nursing Practice Term ends 2023
Amy Belz, LPN Representing Nursing Practice Term ends 2023
BJ Hoffman Representing the Public Term ends 2023
Gordon Goettsch, DDS Representing the Public Term ends 2022
To learn more about the board appointment process, see the Governor's website at this LINK
What's the Difference?
Many calls come to the Iowa Board of Nursing (IBON) that are intended for the professional nurses associations. What? Aren't they the same thing? The answer is "No, they are not the same thing."
The following information tells you what the IBON is:
- Legally constituted body (state agency) which regulates nursing practice (LPN, RN, ARNPs) within Iowa;
- 7 Members appointed by Governor (5 registered nurses, 2 Public)
- Created in 1917
- One of 59 state or territorial jurisdictions of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN)
Mission Statement:
The mission of the board is to protect the public health, safety and welfare by regulating the licensure of nurses, the practice of nurses, nursing education and continuing education.
Functions:
- License & maintain records for RNs, LPNs, and Advanced Practice Nurses;
- Interpret Nurse Practice Act;
- Approve nursing education programs conducted in Iowa;
- Approve continuing education (CE) providers and audit CE requirements of licensees;
- Introduce and monitor legislation impacting nursing regulation; promulgate administrative rules;
- Collaborate with other nursing organizations, governmental agencies, and public regarding nursing regulation;
- Investigate complaints against nurses and carry out appropriate disciplinary actions;
- Provide nursing workforce supply information gathered through the licensure process.
Although they sound very similar the IBON regulates nurses, nursing practice and nursing education. The professional associations that nurses choose to join are the advocacy agencies who can connect, support and represent the nursing profession. IBON encourages nurses to join their professional associations.
|