Welcome to the Golden Age of Nursing

We were so proud to have Dr. Donna Shalala, a revered public servant and current president of the University of Miami, speak to our graduates at Commencement last week. As chair of the Committee on the Future of Nursing for the Institute of Medicine, Dr. Shalala emphasized that healthcare systems around the world are poised to benefit from the expertise of nurses at a higher and more expansive level than ever.

With the passage of the 2010 Affordable Health Care Act, the discipline of nursing is front and center. We must seize the moment by investing in nurse scientists and advancing the scholarly field of nursing science. Scholarship in nursing is vital for developing and translating best practices for quality care. The objective of a research career is to provide the evidence for equitable, quality healthcare for all populations. Of course the ultimate goal is to develop policies and practice standards that positively influence the care of all people.

To achieve that, academic and practice institutions must uphold and fortify their research mission.

On a recent visit to Universidad de Costa Rica, I spoke about creating a culture of scholarship. In sum, the keys are:

• Practice – Having an engaged and well-supported practice program
• PhD Education – Preparing nurses for the highest level of competency and integrity
• Passion for the Discipline – Inculcating a strong identity and integrating research and practice
• Post-Doctoral Education – Supporting novice scholars
• Protecting Researchers – Providing time, mentorship and support
• Productive Communities – Creating environments that value scholarship, mentoring, and intellectual engagement
• Partnerships – Creating local, national and global relationships, and clinical-academic partnerships
• Policies -- Knowing and influencing healthcare priorities and research agendas and using media to market findings.

We are on the threshold of the Golden Age of Nursing. Today’s graduates are beginning their nursing careers at the best possible time. Let us ensure that every door is open to them and to every nurse scientist.

“Give the Profession a Little Swagger”

Nurses will be the leaders in our reformed healthcare system. That was the clear and motivating message from Dr. Donna Shalala, our wonderful Commencement speaker yesterday.

With three million nurses in the United States, Dr. Shalala said, nursing professionals “hold the power and influence to make those numbers speak” in the new era of healthcare. She is in a position to know: Dr. Shalala, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and current president of the University of Miami, has spent her career working tirelessly for health, knowledge and empowerment for all people. And last year, she chaired the Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing at the Institute of Medicine. The committee reported on the crucial role of nurses in healthcare reform.

Yesterday, Dr. Shalala told our Penn Nursing graduates that their expanded role under the 2010 Affordable Health Care Act should “elevate nursing to its proper leadership place in the health care pantheon.”

She called on our graduates to claim a leadership role in health care reform: to ensure that their voices are heard “on rounds and on the record,” to demand “full partnership with physicians,” and to “give the profession a little swagger.” I couldn’t agree more.

“I strongly believe a Golden Age of Nursing is right in front of us,” Dr. Shalala said, “if we seize the moment. It will not come to us. All of you must go and get the future of nursing – it will take guts, heart, and a lot of skill.”

Our graduates are ready not only to meet this charge, but to lead the way.