2020 The Year of the Reimagined Nurse
The World Health Assembly, the governing body of the World Health Organization (WHO), designated 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife to advance nurses’ vital position in transforming healthcare around the world. It also is in honor of the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth.
In the US, nurses engage in a wide range of roles and specialties, which is why ANA Enterprise chose to promote 2020 as the “Year of the Nurse.” Our goal is to encourage inclusivity and participation of all nurses, including nurse midwives, in this landmark year of activities.
-American Nurses Association
When I began my journey as a nurse eight years ago, I felt lost and disillusioned- not by the people, but by the system that treated people as a diagnosis and a problem to be fixed. In the hospital setting, I witnessed nurse bullying and an overarching devaluation of the wellbeing of nurses. As a bodyworker and self-care advocate for 10 years before becoming a nurse, I was utterly confused by what I saw. Nurses (Healers) were caring for the sick and wounded on long shifts, surviving on highly processed food and caffeine, with very little opportunities for rest- only to return to work within a few short hours to push through it all again. Self-care was not encouraged, and self-deprivation was glorified. As an empath, I could feel the debilitating fatigue and oppressive culture of staff shortages and endless, disconnected tasking that was draining my colleagues.
Then I discovered Nurse Coaching.
While still in nursing school, I read an article in the Journal of Holistic Nursing about this emerging role for nurses and I felt that full body YES! This is why I’m becoming a Nurse.
In my Nurse Coach certification course, led by three paramount leaders in our field- Barbara Dossey, Susan Luck, and Bonney Schaub- I learned of the deeper roots of nursing and the vision of Florence Nightingale.
In the 1870s, Florence Nightingale wrote that it would take 100 to 150 years to see the kind of nursing she envisioned. And here we are- in 2020, deemed The Year of the Nurse by the World Health Assembly.
Some say we are far from embodying the kind of nursing Nightingale envisioned. I guess that depends on the lens you are looking through.
Through the lens of a holistic nurse focused on wholeness, I see nurses waking up to new opportunities- as coaches, business owners, and “Nursepreneurs.” Nurses are bringing mindfulness practices to their staff meetings, and advocating for cultural shifts that support their wellbeing. Nurse Coaches are creating programs and offerings that guide their nurse colleagues out of burn out and towards reconnecting with their passion for healing and serving. Nurses are investing in themselves in transformational personal and professional development programs and finding their tribes.
So, it seems we are collectively reimagining what nursing is and can become. We are stepping up as leaders - regardless of the credentials behind our names. We are nurses. We are healers. We are trusted guides and lighthouses for those who need us. And we need ourselves. We need to fully embody what it means to be well. Not perfect, but well - loving and caring for ourselves like we love and care for others. This is our time.
Brandie Mitchell, RN, NC-BC
Real mom, wife, friend, nurse, and coach doing the work of being human.