Sigma Theta Tau Award: Nurses Make a Difference

I was honored to receive the Nell J. Watts Lifetime Achievement Award from Sigma Theta Tau during their 43rd Biennial Convention in Las Vegas, NV (November 7-11, 2015). This award meant a great deal to me for a number of reasons.

First, because I am honored to carry the namesake of a very action oriented, voiced leader, Dr. Nell Watts, whom I admired not only from afar, but had the honor to be in her presence and audience on numerous occasions.

Second, because it was humbling to be among a distinguished and transformative group of colleagues and award recipients, in particular, my dear friend and colleague from Colombia, Nelly Garzón Alarcón, who is a former ICN president and is an incredible Latin American leader.

Third, because I am receiving this award from Sigma Theta Tau, a powerful organization that has numerous members and chapters in  many countries – who do and can have a strong voice to make a difference, particularly for the gender inequities and injustices that nurses suffer from worldwide.

This is the best time for nurses to make an impact for care providers and care receivers. We are better educated, we develop the knowledge and evidence for quality care and we have individual and collective voices that could make us, 20 million globally, an incredible force for equal access and for quality care.

In the time it takes you to read this blog, 5 women will have died from pregnancy complications that could have been prevented, 5 girls will have been forced and sold into marriage, 1 girl will be trafficked into servitude and many nurses will be hired to work in sub-optimal environments and paid 25% of what they are entitled to – and we can make a difference in all of these areas.

Devaluation and under compensation do not only affect nurses’ sense of wellbeing. It influences nurses’ abilities to function up to their full capacities in providing quality care for people, especially those who are the most vulnerable. 

By remembering our social mission and our contract with society for providing equitable and quality care for all, regardless of gender, culture, heritage, race and educational and economic abilities, we can make a difference.

We must recognize inequities, refuse to put up with oppressions and use our strong collective voice to empower, to lead, to partner and to deliver care up to our full capacities. We must continue to refuse, as a collective, to be oppressed, devalued and undercompensated. We can make a difference in creating a just world for girls, for women, for caregivers and for nurses.

I accepted this award on behalf of all nurses who have a strong voice as we, individually and collectively, continue to work toward another lifetime of achievements.